Immigration Bill Offers Real Change

Mexican citizens scramble over a wall from Mexico into the United States. A new proposal would let more non-U.S. citizens enter the country to work.

A bipartisan group of senators and House members on May 12 introduced the most sweeping immigration reform plan in decades, one that would give millions of illegal immigrants a path to a "green card."

Bringing those workers out of the shadows, the lawmakers said, would go a long way to improving security at the nation's borders. The Orange County Register reports that the bill would also create a new guest-worker program under which up to 400,000 new temporary workers would be legally allowed into the United States each year.

The landscaping industry has long pushed for reform that would let more guest workers enter the country. The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and the American Nursery and Landscape Association continue to lobby lawmakers for significant change.

Led by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the authors of the measure said they patterned the bill after the principles laid down by President George W. Bush. In January 2004, Bush said that he wanted to match "willing workers" with "willing employers" and have a more humane border policy.

Bush has never detailed exactly how his program would work, though, except to say he believes the foreign workers should go home at some point. But at the same time, he has also said that his temporary guest workers could get in line for permanent status.

The McCain-Kennedy proposal was immediately assailed and labeled an amnesty by opponents of any legalization of undocumented workers. And despite a bipartisan start, the measure is likely to have a tough road in the Senate and an even more difficult time in the House.

The immigration issue has become an emotional one on Capitol Hill. In recent weeks, the debate has been dominated by those crusading against illegal immigration. And the recent Minuteman Project along the Arizona-Mexico border shined a dramatic spotlight on border security.

"This is not, I repeat, is not an amnesty," McCain insisted.

And Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., challenged opponents of legalizing undocumented workers to come forward and show that they have the "political will" and the money needed to find all these millions of workers and deport them.

"The status quo is simply unacceptable, and we need to modernize our broken immigration system to meet the challenges of the 21st century," Kennedy said.

While the legislation is called the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, the security measures are much less specific than the ones that would liberalize immigration rules.