Agricultural Personnel Management Program
University of California

7/18/01 News Report -- Reuters

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) -- Senior Democratic senators on Wednesday said they supported efforts by President George W. Bush to reduce restrictions on illegal immigrant Mexican workers, but said any new policy should also apply to other nationalities.

"We believe it's time to pass a broad legalization program for undocumented, long-time workers -- not just for Mexicans, as some in the administration have suggested," said Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.

Any relaxation of policies toward undocumented workers should also include Salvadoreans, Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Haitians, and others in similar situations, Daschle said at a news conference.

The White House this week played down the idea of granting legal status to more than 3 million Mexicans living illegally in the United States, saying it was mainly interested in a new temporary guest worker program.

The immigration issue has become a priority in efforts to strengthen ties between the United States and Mexico.

The Bush administration poured cold water on published reports it was ready to back a full amnesty for undocumented Mexican workers.

Any proposal to give amnesty would meet resistance among some conservative lawmakers who argue it would reward people who broke the law, and some U.S. labor unions fearing jobs would be taken by immigrants willing to work for low wages.

But such a plan would be warmly received by the Mexican government and could enhance Bush's standing with Mexican-American voters.

"We know there are many forces pressuring President Bush to reconsider his support for more fair treatment of immigrant residents," Daschle said. "We hope the president will resist that pressure."

Currently, only immigrants who have lived in the United States prior to 1972 can qualify for residency status, a cut-off date that was set back in 1986. Estimates of the number of people residing in the United States illegally range from 5 million to as high as 11 million.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the administration would likely send an immigration proposal to Congress for consideration before Bush meets Mexican President Vicente Fox in September.

If the administration wanted to develop a temporary program for Mexico, or a guest worker program for future migrants, Kennedy said he would be open to considering such proposals.

U.S. officials have said a temporary worker program would be aimed primarily at giving some type of legal status to migrants who cross the border for seasonal work on farms and for other unskilled laborers.

Republican Senators John Ensign of Nevada and Sam Brownback of Kansas also attended the news briefing to show bipartisan support for changes in U.S. immigration policy.

"The only beneficiaries of the status quo are the unscrupulous smugglers," Brownback said, referring to smugglers of illegal immigrants across the border.

Some 1.5 million Mexicans are arrested every year trying to cross the 1,984-mile (3,200-km) border illegally.

Mexico's Fox, during a visit to the United States this week, called for reforms in U.S. immigration policies, urging expanded "documentation and legalization," and allowing undocumented Mexicans to obtain drivers licenses and access to state university systems.