The bill would allow foreign-born workers to apply for a temporary work visa lasting up to six years. They would have to register with the U.S. government, submit to security and other “background” checks, and pay a $500 visa application fee. Undocumented workers already living in the United States would also have to pay a $2,000 fine.

Such “temporary workers”—hired only if a boss can claim that no “American” wants the job—would be dependent on the employer to keep their legal status. After their visa expired they would be subject to deportation unless an employer sponsored them for permanent resident (green card) status. They would also be deportable if unemployed for more than 45 days, a provision making it easier for the government to carry out deportations in case of an economic downturn.

The bill aims to respond to the needs of U.S. capital, which relies heavily on immigrant labor. It is also designed to allow the government—in the name of “homeland security”—to keep track of and control of foreign-born workers at a time when the unprecedented influx of immigrants has created a burgeoning underground economy. It also provides for beefing up “border security.”

“I want an immigration system that says we’re not going to look for people who come to mow our lawns and wash our dishes and clean our babies’ behind and raise them for us,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois at a May 12 press conference held to announce support for the bill. “Those aren’t the people we’re concerned about. We’re concerned about drug dealers and smugglers on our border. And through this process we won’t have to worry about those people that come to wash our dishes and mow our lawns and do the kinds of jobs other people in America don’t want to do.”  
 
Temporary work visas
The law would establish an annual quota of 400,000 temporary work visas. The undocumented immigrant population in the United States has grown by about a half a million workers a year over the past five years. Estimates for the total number of undocumented workers in the country range between 8 million and 12 million—several times higher than the number two decades ago.

Workers who do not have legal residence status would have to apply for a three-year work visa, renewable for another three years. Applicants who make it through an extensive screening process, including a “security check” and physical exam, would be placed in a “Willing Worker-Willing Employer Electronic Job Registry.” After announcing a job for 30 days without a U.S. legal resident getting hired, a boss would be able to hire a registered “guest” worker.

The visa applicant would then receive a “tamper-resistant” card that would include fingerprints and other biometric identifiers, the card-holder’s citizenship information, and the expiration date of their work permit. Their employer would be given access to the database to verify their documentation.

If the “willing employer” decides to fire or lay off a “willing worker” hired through the program, the worker would lose the visa within 45 days if they can’t find another job in the registry. This provides the legal basis for mass deportations in times of economic crisis.

The law includes special provisions for workers who regularly enter the United States for seasonal jobs and then return to their country. The agribusiness giants in California and other areas of the country depend on migrant labor to extract superprofits from food production.  
 
‘Not an amnesty’
“Make no mistake—this is not—I repeat—not an amnesty bill,” said Republican senator McCain at the May 12 news conference, responding to right-wing critics. “The reality is, there’s an estimated 10 to 11 million undocumented people living and working in this country. It would be impossible to identify and round them up and send them back to the countries from which they came. At the same time, they cannot just come forward and report and deport.

“This bill would allow them to come forward, submit to criminal and security background checks, pay processing fees and $2,000 fines, and apply for legal work status that would last for a six-year period; six years before they would even be eligible to begin the process for citizenship in America…. [Then] they could get in line to adjust status,” that is, apply for a green card.

“We expect Mexico and the other nations…to replace an illegal immigration flow with regulated and legal immigration,” stated Democratic senator Theodore Kennedy. “This is not a guarantee of citizenship, but an opportunity to continue to work hard, play by the rules, and earn permanent residency…. If they are willing to work for us, openly, then we will be willing to do something fair for them. It’s long past time to put the underground economy above ground and recognize the reality of immigrants in our work force.”

The measure also calls for the creation by the Department of Homeland Security of a “National Strategy for Border Security,” including the increased use of aerial surveillance and other moves to beef up the policing of the border area. The U.S. Congress recently approved a measure that would finance the construction of an additional border wall to strengthen the existing barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana.

The Kennedy-McCain bill would allocate funds for “robust law enforcement assistance” for collaborating with the governments of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and other Central American nations to “dismantle human smuggling organizations and gain tighter control over the border.” It includes a specific program to beef up security along the Mexican border with Guatemala and Belize.
 
 
Related articles:
Oppose ‘guest worker’ bills!  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home