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Immigration
Bush urges Congress to approve immigration reform
Agencia Efe
Washington, Feb 28 (EFE).- The Bush administration on Wednesday urged Congress to approve comprehensive immigration reform to bring millions of undocumented immigrants in this country out of the shadows, but it rejected any notion of "amnesty."
Before a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff insisted on viable and practical solutions that strengthen border security, economic development and social integration.
Gutierrez and Chertoff attended the first hearing on the matter since the Democrats retook control of Congress, amid demands that lawmakers create a path to legalization for at least some of the estimated 12 million clandestine immigrants now in the United States.
Noting that whatever measures are ultimately approved will "have to work in the real world," Chertoff said the United States had made progress on controlling its borders.
Both men clearly said that President George W. Bush does not support an amnesty and that the undocumented foreigners here must fulfill several requirements to be able to normalize their legal status.
Gutierrez described immigration as an "essential part" in strong productivity growth in the United States, and he said the country could transform the influx of foreigners into "a competitive advantage to help maintain a vibrant and growing economy."
He said the immigrants who now "make up 15 percent of our labor force" mainly take "jobs in agriculture, hospitality and construction where employers can’t find Americans to do them."
The centerpiece of the Bush administration approach to immigration is a guest worker program, which, according to the commerce secretary, reconciles national security with employers’ need for workers.
Last December, the government tallied 4.4 million job vacancies and the national unemployment figures stood at 4.6 percent. Labor demand is reflected, for example, in the agricultural sector, where fruits and vegetables are rotting in the fields due to lack of workers, Gutierrez said.
Wednesday’s hearing highlighted differences over both substance and semantics, especially with regard to the term "amnesty," a word that is anathema in the halls of Congress.
Iowa Republican Charles Grassley warned that Congress would do well to recall the lessons of the 1986 amnesty which, in his judgment, was a failure.
After a series of intense negotiations, the Senate last year approved an immigration bill that included a path to legalization for millions of undocumented migrants. But House Republicans held up the process of reconciling that measure with the much harsher one they passed at the end of 2005.
Thus, the only legislation to come out of Congress last year was a law to build a double fence along portions of the border with Mexico.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wants the Judiciary Committee to approve a bill by March 22 so that it can be submitted to a vote by the full chamber before the legislative recess in August.
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