Will New Congress Pass Immigration Reform?

Some Businesses Are Hopeful A Democratic Congress Will Speed Up A Guest Worker Program

(CBS)  In the fertile valleys of California's Santa Barbara County, when it comes to immigration, the president of the local growers' association, Richard Quandt, voices a common complaint.

"We didn't have enough workers this year," Quandt says.

In Los Angeles, restaurant owner Blair Salisbury has the same lament, CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports.

"People ask me the question, 'Why don't you hire more non-Hispanics?' Trust me — they're not there," Salisbury says.

They are two different businesses, but they share one common problem. Now these two Republicans share something else in common: Both are pinning their hopes on the new Democratic-controlled Congress to help them get the immigrant labor they say they need.

Salisbury says he does expect things to change. "We're going to have to go with some type of guest worker program," he says.

That's exactly what President Bush has been pushing. But even with some 12 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally, all the outgoing Republican-controlled Congress could agree on was a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border. In California, where immigrants are slicing the celery Americans will be dicing for Thanksgiving stuffing, many employers want a more sweeping solution.

"We can do better as a country, but the Congress needs to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform," Quandt says.

It would be a mistake to assume that just because Congress is changing that there will be significant change in immigration policy. Democrats might find it just as thorny a problem to solve as the Republicans did.

"We still have deep divisions in both the Democratic and Republican party," says Jeanne Butterfield of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "We have Democrats who will not go for anything that has a temporary worker program in it. We have Republicans who won't vote for anything that has a broad-ranging legalization program in it."

But now, with the president and presumed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both wanting a guest worker program and both parties eager to win alienated Latino voters, the time might just be ripe for immigration reform.

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For more information about the issue of immigration:

Click here to read more from the American Immigration Law Foundation.

The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide.

Compete America is a coalition of over 200 corporations, universities, research institutions and trade associations committed to assuring that U.S. employers have the ability to hire and retain the world’s best talent.

[lestb35]

How about we shut down legal immigration for awhile until the massive number of new immigrants from the last decade can assimilate. Our schools, healthcare, social services, everything has been stressed to the max. Let's just let everyone assimilate and become Americans. As for illegals, that's a given; send them home. No amnesty.

[mustang98gt9]

Guest workers aside the laws need to be changed to support the husbands and wives of US Citizens.

The New York times ran an article on US Citizens whose husbands and wives can not enter the US for years or lifetimes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/fashion/12green.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=style

These stories of love are rarely reported in the main stream media and US Citizens should get at least the same provisions for their own spouses that guest workers get.

I don't recall Mexico as to having a military, so it should be pretty easy to take down their leadership like Iraq, make it a part of the U.S.; the 51st state then all those companies that defected to the south would have to pay taxes as well. It might take an afternoon for us to to conquer that little nation

[olebd]

Suppose there is a guest worker program offered to illegals. What's going to happen when their guest worker status expires? Do you really think they are going to turn themselves in to be sent back home? My guess is, they will continue working illegally once again. Why bother?

[sunshine_2]

codynyuma:

Well Said. Stop spending state healthcare & education dollars on subsidising illegals. Tax the Money sent Abroad & recoup the lost revenue here. Jail the Employeers Hiring Elegal Labor, adn Fine them Heavily.
First America exports jobs abroad, now we want to import a work force to take jobs at Home.
Hire America First! @ a Fair Living Wage adn Enforce our Immigration Laws. Then See what reforms are needed. Opening the Gates wider is not the answer. However trying to snd them all home is difficult, but We need to know who is here first, before we give a Blanket Amnesty.
Is America ready to make the "trafficing of human slavery legal"? The Trafficers can't wait till we Legalize their business that brings over the illegal immigrants.

[snowbrd7]

Hire our Citizens First with Fair Living Wages.

Posted by Sunshine_2 at 05:11 PM : Nov 16, 2006

I second that!

[sunshine_2]

Any Guest Worker Stauts should include any Friendly Country Who Obeys America's Immigration Laws (not just Latin America), and the process should be initiated in their country ... not after they broke the law to get here. The Government does not even know who is already here, but wants to Legalize the ones that got away for the border patrol & are being paid under the tabel by "law breaking employeers"?
How long does a "Guest Worker" get to stay here, before he must returns home and reapply? Or will he just stay indefinantly and raise a whole family of non-citizens. Who In America knows the Details of the proposed "Guest Program"?

Hire our Citizens First with Fair Living Wages.

[sunshine_2]

Why court the Latino Vote? Is the Program only intended to allow a "Latin National a Guest Worker Status" & legalize the Latin illegals?

Raise the workers pay scale and stop Exporting jobs abroad & importing immigrant labor!! Now The government wants to Import more Immigrants to take our Jobs in our own Cities and States, rather then pay us a living wage. How is this going to help the Central & South American Countries Grow, Economically?

Enforce Existing Laws First, and Stop the Flow of the Illegals who are counting on getting here first, and Amnesty or a Guest Worker Program, "Grand Fathering them into Citizenship".

Allowing Legal Immigration is acceptable, revisit the Visa and Immigration Policy with "All Countries" Amaerica Considers Friendly, revise as necessary.

But importing Cheap Labor, or legalizing those who Illegaly Steal the American Dream, by Breaking our laws to get here, is not an acceptable solution to the immigration problems facing the us, or the Employment Problems.

"People ask me the question, 'Why don't you hire more non-Hispanics?' Trust me %u2014 they're not there," Salisbury says.
How can there not be enough Legal non-Hispanics in California? Maybe his *** wages are too low to support an American Family.

[olebd]

That's it....Modern day slavery is what it boils down to.

Those hiring the illegals are as much a part of the problem as the person who becomes illegal after crossing the border.

Gotta make and keep as much of that buck as much as possible. No matter what.

[mjv2944]

Illegal I believe means just that. If your in this country without proper documentation, you are breaking the law, end of story. This BS put out by big corporate farms is just that, BULLSH*T!!! Pay a living wage with benefits and there will be Americans lining up for the jobs. Instead you are basically supporting a slave operation with all the social burdens falling on taxpayers.

[olebd]

We may not be able to round up 10 million, but we could certainly TRY! A couple million less would help. It's not like they hide out. They are on a lot of streets every morning either doing jobs or waiting for a job.

They have got to go. They broke the law. That is still a BAD thing to do.

Come in legally and work all ya want.

Let's TRY to do without the illegals. We certainly did alright before.

[lestb35]

I wish I would have opened dozens of businesses a decade ago and claimed there weren't enough workers so I had to hire illegal slave labor. I'd be rich.

[frankbowers]

NO! NO! We do not under any conditions need illegal immigrants to do the work. What we need, require the people who hire them to pay a living wage (ast least 8.0 per hour with insurance) and then tax it accoringly. This would help the country and rid it of illegals. The illegal pay little or no tax in our country, then pull the money from this country and send it to some foreign country to aid that country where they do pay tax. All illegal must and should be returned to their native country at their expense and should stay in jail or prison until they have the funds to do so.The best of good byes from a happy ex republican in Austin, TX Frank Bowers

[cbgb31]

clestes, it can be done by attrition. If they can't get benefits they'll eventually go home. Especially if Mexico's economy improves. We should not grant amnesty. It would be unfair to people who wait for years to get into the country legally.

[clestes-2009]

to continue

AT LEAST 10 million people is impossible. Cannot be done. So all you people that think all illegals should be sent home, get with the program. This country has been a haven for immigrants since the Mayflower and it isn't going to change. Putting up a fence for 700 miles is a waste of money as well. If that is the best the GOP can come up with, they need to think again, harder this time.

[clestes-2009]

This is going to be one of the more difficult problems to solve for the next Congress. And they need to do so before 2008.

Much as I hate to agree with gw about anything, there must be a guest worker program and there must be legalization for immigrants who have been here 5 years. I know a lot of people say, send them back, but the logisics of rounding up AT

[bizarre_66]

Yes overhauling immigration policies can be quite complex, but it is something that needs fixing, not something for plain bickering.It is incomprehensible why some politicians and plain citizens seem to dwell on the negative instead of SOLVING this broken immigration system, in the meantime other naations are taking advantage of this opportunity to move forward. just look at where China is right now, and now India. Stop blaming past immigration errors and instead use that data with revisions for a better immigration solution.as for putting guards in the border and calling another country names... as what is suggested by some foul mouthed readers here... well never mind, not even worth dignifying their comments....bottom line ...only way to fix a problem is to find a workable, fair, intelligent and reasonable solution.so america can focus more on other issues.so america can be what it has always been...AMERICA THE GREAT!!!

[bizarre_66]

Yes overhauling immigration policies can be quite complex, but it is something that needs fixing, not something for plain bickering.It is incomprehensible why some politicians and plain citizens seem to dwell on the negative instead of SOLVING this broken immigration system, in the meantime other naations are taking advantage of this opportunity to move forward. just look at where China is right now, and now India. Stop blaming past immigration errors and instead use that data with revisions for a better immigration solution.as for putting guards in the border and calling another country names... as what is suggested by some foul mouthed readers here... well never mind, not even worth dignifying their comments....bottom line ...only way to fix a problem is to find a workable, fair, intelligent and reasonable solution.so america can focus more on other issues.so america can be what it has always been...AMERICA THE GREAT!!!

[getcentered]

I don't think this country has an immigration problem.

It's funny to me though how the GOP/Republicans would raise this issue as a problem but at the same time not want to do anything about it. They have no problem letting American jobs go over seas. Then the people here losing their jobs get someone to blame; our immigrants.

Thanks Karl Rove.

Immigration is a natural thing. People will go to where they can find the most stability.

[bob_burd]

Pay real Americans a decent wage and they will do this work. The rich farmers and producers employing thhese illegals are to blame.

Capitalism at its worst, eating itself.

Selah