Panel Wants New Guest Worker Program

A Cabinet-level panel has recommended that the United States consider allowing some of the estimated three million Mexicans living illegally in the United States to gain permanent residence through a guest worker program, the White House said Tuesday.

The recommendation by a panel led by Secretary of State Colin Powell and Attorney General John Ashcroft is significantly more limited than an idea floated last week of granting legal status to all undocumented Mexicans.

"The recommendation is to consider a new temporary guest worker program that would allow for some of the workers to gain permanent resident status over a period of time," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

"We are continuing to work with Mexico toward our shared goal of a more orderly, humane and safe migration," he added. "No decisions have been taken."

President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox this year began broad discussions on how to reduce illegal immigration between Mexico and the United States and how to make the notoriously dangerous U.S.-Mexican boarder safer.

Some 1.5 million Mexicans are arrested every year trying to cross the 1,984-mile border illegally. Last year more than 300 died, mostly from thirst and heat exhaustion.

The idea of an outright amnesty for undocumented Mexicans living in the United States has been criticized by some conservative members of Congress, who argue it rewards those who have broken the law and undermines U.S. immigration laws.

Republican Sen. Phil Gramm of Mr. Bush's home state of Texas said last week that any proposal to grant amnesty would be a bad example for 7 million Mexican immigrants who have legally applied to enter the country and are waiting for their paperwork to be approved.

The White House last week played down the idea, saying it was more interested in a temporary guest worker program.

However, an amnesty would appeal to Mexico and could enhance Mr. Bush's standing with Mexican-American voters. Senior Democratic senators last week said they supported efforts to reduce restrictions on illegal immigrant Mexican workers, but said any new policy should also apply to other nationalities.

McClellan declined comment on how many of the estimated three million undocumented Mexicans might benefit from the guest worker program under consideration, saying the panel's recommendation had not gone into that level of detail.

The New York Times, which first reported the recommendation Monday on its Web site, quoted unidentified administration officials and outside experts as saying perhaps 1 million to 2 million of the 3 million Mexican illegals could benefit from the program.

The recommendation, prepared by officials at the Justice and State Departments, was sent to White House staff late on Friday, and had not yet risen to Bush's attention, he said.

In the past, President Bush has stopped short of endorsing blanket amnesty for Mexicans in this country illegally.

McClellan describethe memo as a recommendation by Powell and Ashcroft but stressed the White House had not made any decisions on the matter, saying it was "under consideration."

Legislation to expand and streamline a temporary farm-worker program that would let undocumented laborers of any nationality earn permanent residency under certain conditions is already before Congress, the Times said.

It is estimated that 50 percent to 80 percent of the 1.6 million farm workers in the United States are illegal immigrants, mostly from Mexico, the newspaper said.

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