http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory. ... cs/3295541

Aug. 3, 2005, 10:06PM



Bush: 'Guest worker' plan will benefit U.S. employers
The president, in a wide-ranging talk, gives a hint at how he'll pitch reform measures
By MICHAEL HEDGES
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

GRAPEVINE - President Bush told a crowd of state legislators Wednesday that he will push immigration reform as beneficial for U.S. employers as well as foreigners looking for work.

He also made an impassioned pitch for Americans to stay behind the war in Iraq.

"Immigration reform is going to be an interesting subject when we get back to Washington" in September, said Bush, who plans to spend this month at his Crawford ranch.

He argued that his proposal for a "guest worker" program is good for employers and illegal immigrants who want a mutually beneficial relationship.

"If you are a willing employer (and) you have somebody looking for work and you can't find an American, there ought to be a legal way for you to employ that person," he said. "We'd rather have people coming in with a card that said, 'I'm a legal worker,' than trying to sneak across the border."

The president has proposed a system under which immigrants would be granted worker temporary worker status, after which they would have to leave the United States. Critics have called it a thinly veiled amnesty program. Immigration reform plans have stalled in Congress so far this year, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist recently suggested a GOP push on the issue was more likely to happen next year.

Talking hours after the first reports that 14 U.S. Marines were killed in Iraq, Bush said, "The violence in recent days in Iraq is a grim reminder of the enemies we face. These terrorists and insurgents will use brutal tactics because they're trying to shake the will of the United States of America."

With polls showing that public support for continued military involvement in Iraq is eroding in the face of steady casualties, Bush relied on a familiar linkage of the war with the larger struggle against terrorism. He said Americans who died in Iraq and Afghanistan "lost their lives in a noble cause."

Speaking to 1,800 people at the American Legislative Exchange Council conference, Bush basked in recent legislative victories delivered by a GOP majority in Congress, including the Central American Free Trade Agreement and energy and highways legislation.

Bush said his priorities when Congress reconvenes after Labor Day will be immigration reform, making his tax cuts permanent, getting Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts confirmed and resurrecting his Social Security reform initiative.

Bush drew loud cheers by saying he strongly believed in private retirement accounts for workers under 55. "Now is the time to permanently fix Social Security," he said.

The event was held at a mammoth convention center where visiting legislators were introduced to Texas pride, including a large replica of the Alamo, a 10-foot-long space shuttle model and other state symbols.

michael.hedges@chron.com




He argued that his proposal for a "guest worker" program is good for employers and illegal immigrants who want a mutually beneficial relationship.

"If you are a willing employer (and) you have somebody looking for work and you can't find an American, there ought to be a legal way for you to employ that person," he said. "We'd rather have people coming in with a card that said, 'I'm a legal worker,' than trying to sneak across the border."
Mr. President -- there is no "legal way" for "illegal immigrants" to work in the United States .... that's an oxymoron