http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/90221.php

Published: 08.25.2005

House Speaker Hastert in favor of guest-worker program
By C.J. Karamargin
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The top Republican in Congress said Wednesday a guest-worker program like the one advocated by some Arizona lawmakers should be part of a comprehensive reform of the country's immigration laws.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert didn't specifically endorse legislation backed by Sen. John McCain and Rep. Jim Kolbe that would allow foreigners to enter the country legally to work.

But Hastert told reporters in Tucson that some type of guest-worker program needs to be included in any immigration-reform effort taken up by Congress.

"You need to have that guest-worker program so people can legitimately come across the border, work and if they wish go home," he said.

Describing conditions along the border as "a travesty," Hastert said he also wants immigration legislation to increase border security and find some way to deal with the millions of foreign workers now in the country illegally.

But "you can't pass legislation where there's no consensus," he said, adding that finding a consensus will be the first hurdle to clear after Congress returns from its summer recess next month.

Hastert's Tucson visit came a week after Janet Napolitano and Bill Richardson, the Democratic governors of Arizona and New Mexico, issued border-related disaster declarations. Both cited an increase in crime stemming from illegal immigration.

Hastert was the star attraction at a fund-raiser for Kolbe, a Tucson Republican who plans to seek a 12th term in 2006. Former state lawmaker Randy Graf, a strong opponent of guest-worker programs, will challenge Kolbe in next year's GOP primary, as he did in 2004.

An estimated 75 people, including Mayor Bob Walkup, City Councilman Fred Ronstadt and University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson, attended a $500-per-person reception with the two congressmen at The Doubletree Hotel at Reid Park.

An estimated 250 people attended a $250-per-person lunch held immediately afterward.