SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS July 13, 2006
Guest worker program gets a boost
WASHINGTON — Immigrant labor is critical to the nation's economy and underscores the need for a guest worker program, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told a Senate committee Wednesday.
As Gutierrez testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, House lawmakers announced hearings aimed at exposing flaws in Senate legislation that includes a guest worker provision and a path for citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. The sparring between the House and Senate is expected to continue through the summer, leaving doubt whether Congress can pass a bill before the mid-term elections in November. Bush administration officials, including Gutierrez and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, have publicly pushed immigration reforms that mirror those in the Senate bill. "Immigrants aren't crossing our borders to look for a handout. They're seeking jobs that are available," Gutierrez said. Gutierrez said the U.S. economy is growing faster than that of any other industrialized nation, and immigrant labor has helped fuel the growth. He pointed to a letter signed by 500 economists that states immigration as been a net gain for America. While Gutierrez said it was essential to secure the nation's borders, he said the best way to take the pressure of illegal immigration off the borders is with a temporary worker program. "It would create a legal means for more workers to enter the United States for a limited time to fill labor needs," Gutierrez said. The Senate bill includes a guest worker plan, as well as measures that would create a path to citizenship for nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country. House leaders have scheduled seven hearings, from July 18 to July 27, to contrast the Senate bill with House legislation that focuses on border security and enforcement of immigration laws. House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the Senate bill "undermines, rather than strengthens, our efforts to seal our borders from illegal entry." The House bill, passed in December, calls for a crackdown on the U.S.-Mexico border with more agents and high-tech surveillance, as well as stiff penalties for employers and those who aid undocumented immigrants. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, accused Republican leaders in the House of using the hearings to "inflame passions of the anti-immigrant faction" during an election year when conservatives need their base to turn out at the polls. "I would hope that fear and intolerance are not a winning political strategy," Leahy said. Republican leaders in the House have called for border security measures to be implemented before guest worker and earned legalization programs are implemented.
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