Sunday, Jan. 22, 2006 | 7:27 a.m.
Last fall President Bush renewed his call for a guest-worker program as part of his administration's efforts to deal with illegal immigration. Under his program, undocumented immigrants, after paying steep fines for their illegal entry, could apply for visas. The visas would allow them to work up to six years in this country. After that they would have to return home for at least a year.
Bush's plan is flawed because many of the undocumented workers have started families here and have found stable employment. Forcing them to return home, instead of allowing them to apply for permanent residency, would present these needed workers with a painful hardship.
Yet the plan is much more humane than a bill passed by the House in December, which, in the words of The New York Times, "would turn the millions of illegal immigrants living in this country into felons, ineligible for any legal status." Obviously, that bill is Draconian and unworkable.
Instead of Bush's plan for a guest-worker program, we supported a bill by Sens. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz. Their bill follows Bush's plan up to the point where the workers have no choice but to return to their native country. Under the senators' bill, workers would be allowed to remain in the United States if they had applied for residency and were making good-faith efforts to learn English.
Now, the Kennedy-McCain bill has picked up two strong allies -- the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose membership includes 3 million businesses, and the Service Employees International Union, which has nearly 2 million members. A report by Cox News Service quoted Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber, as saying the legalization program is necessary to stave off a worker shortage when millions of Baby Boomers retire over the next four years. Birth rates are not matching the worker drain, he said.
We hope Congress takes heed of the position taken by the Chamber and the SEIU. If the House bill is followed, the country will bear witness to a horror as workers are separated from their families and deported. The Kennedy-McCain bill would give the workers a chance to remain here and continue peacefully earning a living while filling a vital role.
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