President George W. unveiled an election-year proposal on Jan. 7 to let millions of mostly Hispanic immigrants work legally in the United States in what would be the biggest overhaul of U.S. immigration law in almost two decades.
The administration sought to balance the concerns of politically important Hispanic groups seeking to legalize immigrants’ status and major employers who want workers for low-paying jobs. Others worry about security and job competition amid a sea of illegal immigrants.
Under ’s plan, illegal immigrants now in the United States would be allowed to stay for an initial three-year period if they could prove they had jobs.
However, the effort to court Hispanic-American voters and patch frayed relations with Mexico faced an uncertain future on Capitol Hill, where the guest worker program creating a three-year renewable temporary work permit drew skepticism from Republicans and Democrats alike.
[Meanwhile, at a press conference by New York Immigration Coalition, immigrant, labor and religious leaders carefully scrutinized the new immigration proposal. Many immigrant workers are upset and say it is a step backward in the country’s immigration debate, according to a press release. “New guest worker program temporarily shields workers from arrest, but that does not allow them to settle in the U.S.,” a press release said. New Immigration Community Empowerment organized a similar press conference on Jan. 9.]