- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In
what could be the biggest change in U.S. immigration law in nearly two
decades, the Bush administration is drawing up plans to help more immigrants
find work legally in the United States, officials and congressional aides
said on Wednesday.
-
- President Bush is expected to outline the new program
next month, most likely before traveling to Monterrey, Mexico, on Jan.
12 for talks with Mexican President Vicente Fox and other Latin American
leaders at a summit of the Organization of American States.
-
- "The president has said that we need to have an
immigration policy that helps match any willing employer with any willing
employee," a White House official said. "The administration is
studying the issue and will make recommendations to Congress in due course."
-
- Bush said earlier this month that "this administration
is firmly against blanket amnesty" for undocumented people living
in the United States.
-
- Administration officials declined to offer many details
about the program under consideration.
-
- It is expected to include elements from immigration reform
legislation proposed by U.S. Sen. John McCain and Reps. Jeff Flake and
Jim Kolbe, all Arizona Republicans.
-
- That bill would create a new type of temporary work visa
and an electronic job registry that would allow U.S. employers to post
jobs for Americans as well as foreign workers.
-
- Under the legislation, new visa holders would have the
same rights, wages, working conditions and protections as American workers.
Visa holders could apply for lawful permanent resident status after three
years in the United States.
-
- Advocates say the program would help regulate the flow
of workers across the U.S.-Mexico border -- every year 400,000 more Mexicans
cross the border -- but congressional aides acknowledged that reaching
a consensus in Congress on immigration reform would be difficult.
-
- Talks on an immigration deal with Mexico were high on
the agenda at the start of Bush's administration but the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks pushed the issue to the back burner, to Mexico's frustration.
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