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Deporting illegal immigrants won't work, McCain says

Associated Press
Oct. 18, 2005 04:05 PM

WASHINGTON - As the Bush administration began promoting a guest worker program for immigrants, Sens. John McCain and Edward Kennedy urged Congress to include provisions for illegal immigrants to stay in the country.

Speaking at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce forum on immigration Tuesday, McCain and Kennedy said Congress must realize that businesses rely on immigrant labor and that many immigrants have children born in the United States, who are citizens.

Any plan that would deport illegal immigrants before allowing them to apply for a guest worker program is unrealistic, said McCain, R-Ariz., who has introduced a temporary worker bill with Kennedy.
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"Somebody is going to have to explain how that is workable," McCain said of a bill that would deport illegal immigrants. "My friends, that's not what the lady who holds the lamp beside the golden door is all about."

Bush and administration officials on Tuesday voiced support for a guest worker program that emphasizes beefing up the border. Their comments came a day after Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the Senate likely would not take up immigration until January, despite pressure to deal with the issue sooner.

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl on Tuesday applauded the White House for saying a guest worker program should not provide a way for illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship.

Kyl, a Republican, has proposed a bill with Cornyn requiring illegal immigrants to return to their home country to apply for a guest worker program.

The bill proposed by McCain and Kennedy, D-Mass., endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, would provide immigrant workers with a way to get permanent citizenship. To gain entry, immigrants would have to pay $500 and prove they have a job waiting in the United States.

Employers rely on immigrant labor, McCain said. "People in this room know very well we can't expect employers to be (immigration) officers," he said.

He said the illegal crossings would stop if people couldn't get a job without a temporary worker visa. Any plan that doesn't help immigrants become legal would encourage them to skirt the law, McCain said.

Kyl said allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the country permanently could hurt American workers. Illegal immigrants should have to go home and get in line for legal status, he said in a statement.

"The American people do not want to see anyone rewarded for breaking the law and entering the country illegally," Kyl said.