TUCSON CITIZEN (Editorial): Deficiencies in Bush plan on immigration

Our Opinion: Tucson Citizen
October 20, 2005

President Bush has started to put flesh on the bones of his immigration
reform promises, and the initial outlook is not encouraging.

Bush has long said comprehensive immigration reform would be a mainstay
of his second-term agenda. But until this week, he has backed up that
pledge with only vague generalities.

This week, some details emerged. It is clear that Bush hopes to use the
immigration issue as a way to solidify his shaky conservative base.

Conservatives in Congress have told Bush they will not discuss a guest
worker program or any aspect of immigration reform until the border is
sealed. That sounds appealing but is wildly impractical.

The facts are these: In big cities and in some small towns, the United
States has built steel and concrete walls along the border. The number
of Border Patrol agents has been tripled in the past couple of years.
Still, agents made 1.17 million arrests in the fiscal year that ended
Sept. 30.

Moves to seal the border have failed

Efforts to seal the border have failed. An estimated 11 million illegal
immigrants are in this country, playing a vital role in our national
economy.

Immigration reform cannot be tackled piecemeal. The border must be made
more secure - but that can be done only as part of a comprehensive plan
that includes a guest worker component.

The Bush administration seemed to understand this. "We're going to need
more than just brute enforcement," Homeland Security Secretary Michael
Chertoff told the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. "We're going to
need a temporary worker program as well."

But administration officials said the Bush immigration reform plan will
allow those now illegally in the United States to pay a fine and join a
guest worker program for only six years before returning to their home
countries.

It doesn't take much imagination to know that when those six years
expire, many people will simply melt back into the United States instead
of leaving.

Our Opinion: Tucson Citizen
October 20, 2005

A far better plan is being pushed by Sen. John McCain and Reps. Jim
Kolbe and Jeff Flake, all Arizona Republicans, as well as some Democrats
in both houses.

That proposal would offer illegal immigrants the opportunity to work
toward a permanent work permit and possibly citizenship if they come
forward and become part of a guest worker program.

Any plan that calls for sending illegal immigrants home ignores basic
realities: Businesses need the labor, and many immigrants have children
who were born in the United States and are American citizens.

It does no one any good to force illegal immigrants deeper underground.
The goal is to know who is in this country and find a way to allow them
to work legally under a system in which both they and employers are
treated equitably.

Arizonans understand this. A poll commissioned by The Arizona Republic
found that most Arizonans do not want to force illegal immigrants out of
the country if they are established in communities and have no criminal
record.

An immigration bill might be the next major piece of legislation debated
in the Senate, though probably not before the Thanksgiving recess.
Efforts must focus on coming up with legislation that is comprehensive -
and also workable.