Immigration crossfire

I was listening to AM talk radio last night and a conservative radio talk show host was complaining that President Bush had criticized conservatives who call the immigration legislation amnesty. Coverage of the president's speech in Georgia, from The Baltimore Sun:

"I know there are some people out there hollering and saying, 'Kick them out.' That is simply unrealistic. It won't work," Bush said. "If you want to scare the American people, what you say is, the bill is an amnesty bill. It's not an amnesty bill. That's empty political rhetoric, trying to frighten our fellow citizens."


Here is the link to the Senate's immigration bill.

Here is a nice Q and A by the AP on the comprehensive immigration package. Here are three questions about the temporary worker programs in the bill.

Q: Does the Senate plan have a new temporary worker program? A: Yes. Foreigners who want to work in the U.S. would be able to apply for temporary worker visas. About 200,000 two-year "Y" visas would be available annually. The number of visas would rise or fall based on job availability. The visa could be renewed up to two more times, but the worker would have to home for a year between renewals.

Q: Can temporary workers in the new program earn legal permanent residency? A: No. After a maximum of six years of work, with one-year breaks every two years, temporary workers would have to return home permanently. They could apply to become legal residents while in their home country. But they would have to be considered for a visa under a new system that awarded points based on education, job skills, market needs, English proficiency and family ties.


Q: What about agriculture workers? A: The bill would create a five-year pilot program under which as many as 1.5 million illegal farm workers could acquire legal status through new "Z-A" visas. To qualify, they have to have worked at least 150 days in U.S. agriculture within the two years ending Dec. 31, 2006. They then would have at least 150 more days over three years or 100 days over five years to be eligible for legal permanent residency.

TK: Delivering Republican votes in the House of Representatives is going to be a critical task for President Bush to achieve what so many people in this country want to see happen.