Following is from Lou Dobbs Friday.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ ... dt.01.html

SYLVESTER (voice-over): U.S. construction employees working under a federal contract are guaranteed wages significantly higher than the minimum wage. The so-called prevailing wage rates are ensured by what's known as the Davis-Bacon Act.

The Senate's immigration bill extends those protections to foreign laborers under a guest-worker program. But it went a step further. It also guaranteed the prevailing wage to foreign workers even on private construction projects and in other professions, a benefit American workers do not have.

The result? A system where foreign temporary workers could be paid a lot more than American workers.

SEN. JOHNNY ISAKSON (R), GEORGIA: If a foreign worker on an immigrant firm were working in that job, they would have to be paid $30.27, yet an American citizen working for the same company would not. They might be paid $10 or $15 or minimum wage for that matter.

SYLVESTER: The provision was added as an amendment, ironically aimed at protecting job security of Americans.

STEVEN CAMAROTA, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: Immigrants, guest workers, illegals, what have you, could come in and work for less and undercut natives. This was a way of trying to deal with it, so you can sort of kind of see the thinking behind it. The problem, is of course, then you get an outcome that doesn't seem to make any sense.

SYLVESTER: Critics also point to the process. The Senate bill and its attachments are nearly 800 pages. Yet, the full Senate devoted only 10 days for debate.

ISAKSON: A lot of things flew under the radar, but the brilliance of our system of government is, it takes a long time to get this done, and as people can read and pull back the layers of the onion, if you will, they'll find some of these things.

SYLVESTER: The Republican Policy Committee has highlighted this provision as one more reason why the Senate immigration bill should be defeated.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: Or at the very least, critics say, the Senate bill should be rewritten with an emphasis on border security first. Senator Isakson today called on the White House to send an emergency supplemental to Congress to get additional money for security. He added everyone knows it is an emergency and needs to be done. Lou?

DOBBS: It's just unbelievable. Who came up with the bright idea to do that?

SYLVESTER: This was originally an amendment by Senator Barack Obama, and as I said, he originally wanted this to be a job-security amendment for Americans, but you know, the road to hell is often paved with best intentions so...

DOBBS: ... And the Senate would send everyone in this country, every citizen, straight to hell, if they had their way. They didn't read the legislation that they wrote, and this -- it just keeps coming up, creating the requirement to consult with the government of Mexico, before building a fence. I mean, it's just one thing after another. If the Heritage Foundation doesn't get involved in this, the Senate would have approved 100 million immigrants into this country, in addition to what we have over the next 20 years. I mean, they don't even know what they're doing.

SYLVESTER: Lou, I'm sure there will be more surprises, too, as the weeks go on.

DOBBS: I'm sure you're going to share them with us here. Lisa, thank you very much -- Lisa Sylvester.