by Shelly Mcrae

Created on: June 11, 2007

One of the latest reincarnations of the guest worker program died on the Senate floor on June 7th of 2007. As with so many legislative solutions to an economic problem, the proposal was complex, expensive, and so wrapped up in red tape the implementation would have become a bureaucratic boondoggle.

Immigration to the U.S. is inclusive of any and all peoples of any foreign nation entering this country, legally or illegally. Likewise, guest worker programs are inclusive of any non-American person desirous of working in the U.S. But it is the citizens of Mexico, Central and South America that could have the most to gain by a viable worker program. They may also have the most to lose by an overly complex and unenforceable program.

Guest worker visas are already used for Mexican nationals to enter the U.S. and work in a seasonal industry, such as tobacco farming. These workers are recruited in their homeland, the recruiters working for the farmers. But there is plenty of room for abuse, as recruiters charge naive Mexican nationals exorbitant fees to get on a list, but the visa never materializes. Even without the element of fraud, obtaining a work visa is a long, slow process that creates delays that result in the farmer not having enough workers at harvest time, and visa applicants never leaving Mexico.

The Mexican consulate must interview each visa applicant. That means thousands of interviews, which means delays. The Department of Labor outsourced the job to Computer Sciences Corp., but the outsourcing caused even further delays, as the applicants were sent to consulates spread out over Mexico. (1)

The red tape involved in guest worker visas continues to increase with each reincarnation. Those nationals who wish to enter the U.S. legally and work seasonally aren't the ones who necessarily wish to immigrate to the U.S. Any guest worker program is, by definition, aimed at guests.

The immigration issue lies in those who wish to leave their homeland and live in America.

In President Bush's 2004 State of the Union address, he calls for a "temporary worker program to match willing foreign workers with willing employers, when no Americans can be found to fill the job. This reform will be good for our economy - because employers will find needed workers in an honest and orderly system."

The President's plan calls for a temporary worker program, not citizenship. The immigration issue lies in illegal residents, those who have entered illegally, earn wages illegally, and obtain

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