Republican National Committee Backs President Bush's Guest Worker Plan

The Washington Times reports the Republican National Committee backs President Bush's call for a guest-worker program, adopting a resolution also calling for continued legal immigration, criticizing illegal immigration, and stating there should be "no amnesty for those persons presently in the United States illegally."

The resolution was proposed in response to a another resolution, proposed by Randy Pullen, Arizona's committeeman, that specifically opposed a guest-worker program. Pullen's resolution stated that a guest-worker program would "only result in more illegal immigration and increased crime in our country."

According to the Los Angeles Times, Republican strategists were scrambling Wednesday and Thursday to draft an alternative to Pullen's resolution.

Republican leaders have their hands full resolving the party's divide over immigration reform. The issue is how to crack down on illegal aliens without alienating Latino voters by appearing to be anti-immigrant.

The House last month passed an immigration-enforcement bill that did not include a guest-worker program. The Senate is scheduled to take up immigration legislation early this year, and it will probably approve some sort of guest-worker program and possibly a path to citizenship for illegal aliens.

The key to a resolution is a guest-worker program. Business interests, including agriculture and manufacturing firms, donate millions of dollars to Republican candidates and rely on immigrant labor. Many conservatives oppose any guest-worker program that rewards illegal aliens for flouting the law by entering the country illegally.

The outcome of coming battle over a guest worker program is going to depend on the meaning of amnesty. Pullen said he has yet to see a guest-worker plan that doesn't amount to amnesty. Republican party Chairman Ken Mehlman, said amnesty "would mean that people who have broken the law are not punished for breaking the law."

Comments

[Anna]

I do not agree that Guest Worker Programs (GWP) are amnesty! Amnesty gives citizenship to illegal immigrants. While a GWP only gives them a GW status! There is a huge difference!