LOS ANGELES TIMES

November 21, 2005

Businesses cast cloud over Bush's immigration plans

By Warren Vieth

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration's increasingly tough talk on illegal
immigration is scaring some business allies and trade groups whose support
the White House is seeking for a broad overhaul of immigration laws.

Uncertainty about President Bush's intentions has caused start-up problems
for a business coalition created at the White House's request to help
finance a publicity and advertising campaign to promote changes to
immigration laws.

The anxiety level could rise further when Bush and other administration
officials step up their rhetorical campaign after Thanksgiving and in
December, which some officials are calling "border security month."
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When Bush first outlined his immigration proposals in early 2004, he called
for creation of a guest-worker program that would grant temporary work visas
to undocumented immigrants already here and to prospective workers abroad, a
top objective of businesses that rely heavily on immigrant labor. The
president also called for a renewed crackdown on security at the border, a
priority of "immigration hawks' " who form a large part of the Republican
base.

But recently, a perceived shift of emphasis by the president toward border
security has left many businesses worried about the depth of his commitment
to a guest-worker plan, which they consider an essential element of any
reform legislation.

"Businesses have put a line in the sand, if you will," said Laura Reiff, an
immigration attorney who co-chairs a coalition organized by the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce. "We want to make it clear we don't think enforcement-only is
the way to go. It has to be comprehensive."


Fund-raising problems


The president's shift in emphasis has caused problems for Americans for
Border and Economic Security, a group organized during the summer on behalf
of the White House to raise funds to promote the president's vision of
immigration reform.

The group started out with a fund-raising goal of $3 million and tried to
entice companies and trade groups to sign up for memberships priced at
$50,000 to $250,000. It got few takers and has since reduced the price of
admission to a minimum of $25,000 and maximum of $75,000, according to
people who have been approached by the group.

The key figures in Americans for Border and Economic Security are former GOP
Chairman Ed Gillespie, former Rep. Cal Dooley, D-Calif., and former House
Republican Leader Dick Armey of Texas. Initial organizing sessions, held in
the Washington, D.C., offices of Gillespie's lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie
& Associates, were attended by representatives of Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Tyson
Foods, the American Hospital Association and the U.S. chamber, among others.

A spokeswoman for Microsoft would not say whether the company had joined
ABES. Representatives of the other companies and organizations said they
either declined the invitation or had not yet made up their minds.

Several other businesses and groups contacted in recent days, including the
American Farm Bureau, American Health Care Association and American Nursery
& Landscape Association, said they had chosen not to participate.

Most of those contacted said they were reluctant to join Gillespie's group
because it was not clear how hard the president would push for comprehensive
reform, and how soon the House and Senate would enact broad legislation. A
few said they were also deterred by the high cost of membership or were
participating in the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, the advocacy
group organized by the U.S. chamber.


Unknown program


Another worry for businesses has been the lack of clarity over what type of
guest-worker program the White House will ultimately endorse.

In recent congressional testimony, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said Bush
favored a guest-worker program that would require workers to go back to
their countries of origin after six years.

That idea is more stringent than business-backed proposals that would let
undocumented workers remain in America and apply for citizenship after
paying fines for having broken the law by having entered the country
illegally.

With an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants comprising roughly 5
percent of the U.S. workforce, many businesses believe that attempting to
make them move back to their home countries would disrupt the U.S. economy,
devastate some agricultural sectors and labor-intensive industries, drain
government resources and require one of the biggest mass migrations in
history.

"If you don't provide some kind of accommodation, these 11 million people
are not going to come out of the shadows but are going to remain
underground," said Dooley, who heads the Food Products Association.

"The United States is now their home, by and large. The overwhelming
majority are gainfully employed, have families here and are making positive
contributions to our economy. It would not be in this country's interest to
force them to leave."