U.S. Labor Movement Opposes Bush Plan to Create Immigrant Guest Workers Program

Interview with Anna Avendano, senior adviser on immigration issues for the AFL-CIO, conducted by Scott Harris

In his first major policy initiative of the new year, President Bush proposed an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws. The plan, announced Jan. 7, would allow some eight million undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S. to obtain legal status as temporary workers. The program, if passed by Congress, would offer legal status to employed immigrants for three years, with a one-time opportunity for renewal, but would offer no new avenues to those seeking U.S. citizenship. While President Bush emphasized the plan's capacity to improve security along the nation's borders, many observers accused the White House of proposing the program in the hopes of gaining crucial Hispanic votes in the upcoming presidential election.

The initiative drew both praise and criticism from the Latino community. But many conservatives and advocates of immigration reform were quick to criticize Bush's updated guest worker program. The National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Latino civil rights organization said in a statement, "The Bush proposal is a bitter disappointment that will relegate immigrants to second-class status." John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, warned that the Bush immigration plan would create a permanent legal underclass of low-paid workers.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Anna Avendano, senior adviser on immigration issues for the AFL-CIO, who explains why the labor movement opposes the president's immigration plan.

Contact the AFL-CIO by calling (202) 637-5000, or visit their Web site at www.aflcio.org Visit The National Council of La Raza's website at www.nclr.org

Related links:

"Critics Assail Bush's Immigration Plan," by Martin C. Evans, Erin Texeira and Collin Nash, Newsday, Jan. 9, 2004

"President's Approach to Immigration Policy Filled with Sweeping Generalities," American Friends Service Committee, Jan. 9, 2004 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride campaign www.iwfr.org

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