Plan for Illegal Immigrant Workers Draws Fire From Two Sides
1/8/2004. The New York Times
President Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to pass his plan to give illegal immigrant workers temporary legal status. The proposal drew criticism from some groups involved in the issue for not going far enough to help immigrants and from others for rewarding people who had entered the country illegally....

The Bush Administrations Immigration Plan: Right Issue - But Is It the Right Solution?
1/8/2004. American Immigration Lawyers Association
...It is unclear if the proposal would create meaningful access to permanent legal status for newcomers or if the proposal adequately addresses other major concerns such as the long backlogs in legal immigration. AILA has long maintained that comprehensive immigration reform is needed to address the current situation. Such a comprehensive solution has three main components: permanent legal status for undocumented immigrants already here, a new worker visa program for future migrants, and family backlog reduction so that close family members are not separated for decades from close family members. ...

Immigrant Workers Deserve Fair and Meaningful Immigration Reform: Bush Plan Falls Short
1/7/2004. National Employment Law Project
The President�s proposal on immigration is centered on the needs of business, in the form of an extended �guestworker� program. Current guest worker programs are descendants of the �Bracero� program from the middle of the last century. Guest workers do not acquire any rights to live or work in the U.S. beyond their temporary employment with a particular employer. The proposal does nothing to recognize immigrant workers� participation in civil society and right to become part of the political process our country treasures. ...

NCLR Strongly Critical of White House Immigration Proposal
1/7/2004. National Council of La Raza
Hispanic Americans are extremely disappointed with the President�s announcement today on immigration policy, which appears to offer the business community full access to the immigrant workers it needs while providing very little to the workers themselves. This represents a major departure from the Administration�s posture when they initiated this debate in 2001. This is a bitter disappointment to Latinos who were excited by the President�s apparent willingness two years ago to consider creating a path to permanent legal status for undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States. ...

Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride Coalition Statement on President Bush's New Temporary Worker Program
1/7/2004.
The President's proposal, in his own words, is simply �a new temporary worker program� which falls far short of the requirements of comprehensive immigration reform....

Bush Administration�s Immigration Reform Pitches False Hopes
1/7/2004. National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
The proposal for immigration reform outlined today by President George Bush promises little hope for fair wages or decent working conditions, much less opportunity for legal status, for the millions of undocumented immigrant workers in the U.S. Instead, the proposed �new� policy amounts to little more than another �guestworker� program, with even fewer protections and opportunities than programs currently under consideration in Congress. ...

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on President Bush's Principles for Immigration Reform
1/7/2004.
Immigration reform is a long ignored crisis that demands urgent action. But President Bush's announcement today of his principles for immigration reform is a hollow promise for hardworking, undocumented workers, people seeking to immigrate to the U.S. and U.S. workers alike. It creates a permanent underclass of workers who are unable to fully participate in democracy. The plan deepens the potential for abuse and exploitation of these workers, while undermining wages and labor protections for all workers. ...

Bush outlines immigration overhaul
1/7/2004. Associated Press
Proposal to grant legal status to millions of foreign workers offered as way to assist employers; Election-year plan also an effort to win Latino vote ...

Bush plan for workers stirs immigrants' hopes
1/7/2004. Star Telegram
When President Bush lays out his immigration overhaul plans today, undocumented workers and their advocates will listen with measured skepticism and a dose of hope....

Bush Would Give Illegal Workers Broad New Rights
1/7/2004. The New York Times
President Bush will propose a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws on Wednesday that could give legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States, senior administration officials said Tuesday night....