A Hot Potato - Temporary Worker Program

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It's a Hot Potato

DEC 2: President Bush has been juggling several political hot potatoes this fall: How his administration handled the lead-up to the Iraq war, Katrina related shortcomings, controversial Supreme Court nominations, White House leaks, etc..

Now add another hot potato: immigration reform.

Bush proposed a guest worker program throughout his administration but has yet to get Congress to act on the issue.

In the post-9/11 world, border security has raised the heat politically.

Congress has taken steps to tighten border security, including making it easier to deny admission to people linked to terrorism and setting national standards for obtaining drivers licenses.

But alarmists warn if the United States can�t keep illegal immigrants out, there is little hope to keep out international terrorists who vow to destroy our nation.

However, the issue of border security centers on concerns to keep those perceived as Mexican and Central American riffraff out of the country.

The situation is less about Al Qaida terrorists planting bombs in U.S. back yards and more about bias and prejudice against brown-skinned Latinos who come to plant and harvest American fields.

Here is one of the comments googled from the internet:

"This is a bunch of hogwash. American citizens aren't buying it anymore. This whole bit about "doing the jobs Americans won't do" doesn't wash anymore. It's simply that the employers of illegals want to pay slave wages rather than pay what American workers should legally make, so they can keep making more profit under the gise of "not enough workers". Yes, you are right about one thing! We are sick to death of the 'brown skinned' Mexicans slithering across our borders decimating our social systems and destroying our neighborhoods, our language and our way of life. And we will not take it anymore! Do not underestimate the power of the American citizen when threatened." (Kathy)

Bush, a Texan and former governor of that border state, understands well the complexity of this issue.

He knows the vital role migrants play in the Southwest�s economy as well as the overall American economy.

Farmers know this as well.

Migrant workers are the backbone of California�s $31.8 billion agricultural economy, which leads the nation in farm and ranch production.

For many farmers, particularly those who grow crops dependent on the selective eye and gentle hands of people to tend and harvest, inexpensive labor is a necessity to compete in the global marketplace.

Affordable labor costs are also necessary to compete domestically, where consumers will shun supermarket produce when the price rises a few cents but still buy lattes and fuel up their SUVs when those prices skyrocket.

Growers throughout the West struggled to find enough workers to harvest their crops this season, fallout from steps already taken by the federal government to tighten border security.

Crossing the border has long been a deadly gamble for those who seek work in America, but now heightened security measures make this deadlier.

Between Oct. 1, 2004, and Sept. 29, 2005, a record 460 migrants died crossing into the U.S., according to the U.S. Border Patrol. The prior record was 383 known deaths in 2000.

An estimated 3,600 people have died in attempts to cross the U.S. border in the last 11 years, which coincides with the period of increased enforcement in California known as Operation Gatekeeper.

This year, in the Tucson (Arizona) sector alone, 850 migrants have been rescued during their perilous crossing, according to Border Patrol. That is up 300 from the previous year. A prolonged heat spell in the deserts of Arizona and California contributed to the increased number of deaths.

Bush understands that people do risk their lives to find employment in America.

He proposed a guest worker program to help people work here for a few years and then return to their native countries, but he still attempted to appease staunch conservatives who don�t want migrants to become Americans through some sort of amnesty program.

Guest workers would still have to apply for green cards if they wanted to become residents.

What Bush has proposed rankles those on both side of the immigration issue, but he is on the right track. Current immigration policy keeps needed workers out without improving U.S. safety.

America needs secure borders. We need to know who enters our country, whether the intent is merely to visit, to work, to live or to learn. We particularly need to know who may be coming if the intent is more sinister.

Several national polls indicate that somewhere between 50-75% of Americans oppose any such "Guest or Temporary worker program", but America needs workers from the impoverished states of Mexico, Central and South America to maintain our economy, particularly in agriculture.

Not so, comments Shannon McGauley: "From what I've seen on the border we have enough workers and enough is enough. The borders need to be secured and now. We were taunted by the Mexican Military and have pictures to back it up."

Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, or ALIPAC, have called on all immigration enforcement organizations, talk radio personalities, and the American public to rally against the immigration reform. They want Washington to stop "granting a �Temporary Worker' Amnesty for the millions of illegal aliens currently in the United States."

"Temporary Worker Amnesty legislation is a bad idea because it will lead to more massive illegal immigration from 3rd world areas, cost the American taxpayers billions of dollars, overwhelm health care and educational resources, and add downward pressure on American salaries and quality of life issues." says their press release.

But people from those regions need to be able to better themselves and their families with better wages than they can find in their native countries.

�Many jobs in agriculture are seasonal and are jobs that U.S. workers are unwilling to do,� said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. �Without guest workers who are willing to come to work in the U.S., America�s crops will go un-harvested and livestock untended. Without these vital workers, the affordable and plentiful foods that America�s consumers want and need will be in jeopardy, as will the livelihood of farmers and ranchers who rely upon guest workers.�

Meanwhile, a strong grassroots opposition to "Temporary Worker Program is brewing. PAC, or ALIPAC spokesman Gheen says �our organization will openly call for the removal of any member of Congress that votes for any reward such as a Temporary Worker program for illegal aliens currently in the US". "We are calling it the TEMPORARY Temporary Worker Program, because if Congress passes this amnesty, then our goal will be to remove all supporters of the bill from Congress in the 2006 elections and move to revoke this legislation in 2007. With close to 3 out of 4 Americans on our side, some members of Congress may become our �Temporary Worker�� he added.

Maria-Cinta Lowe, executive director of the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury, Connecticut says "anti-immigrant sentiment has long festered under the surface...the federal government needs to overhaul the immigration system....Immigration is a huge issue, even President Bush doesn't know what he wants to do about it."

While it will remain a political hot potato, "Bush�s guest worker program is not a half-baked idea: It is an overdue but vital step to secure America�s border and its economic viability" says one editorial.

Such editorials are however few out there between the eastern seaboard and the breezy coastlines of Los Angeles. Not to mention the south!

My two cents: Outsource agriculture, farming, landscaping, menial work, etc. etc. which an average American labor can't or won't work in. Let the companies then post surety bonds...alternatively bring in indentured slavery back. The neocons can find a way to do it. It's a national security issue!

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