Students mull over new Bush immigration plan

For a political debate, it seemed that there was more agreement than argument at yesterday's discussion on President George W. Bush's new guest worker proposal.

The event, sponsored by Penn's Chicano student group MEChA, drew an intimate group of about 15 students to Huntsman Hall.

"We just wanted to educate [people] on an issue that affected many of our members ... our relatives, family and friends," said Wharton senior Erica Villasenor, one of the event's organizers. "I personally learned a lot."

Political Science Department Chairman Rogers Smith moderated the discussion, offering a history of guest worker programs in the United States.

Smith proceeded to outline Bush's proposal, on which Congress has not yet acted.

Under the plan, undocumented workers could register as guest workers for a three-year period. The government would then match these workers with employers who cannot find Americans to fill their positions.

During their three-year stay, participating immigrants would enjoy legal status to enter and exit the country at their will. They could apply for citizenship at any time but would not be given priority over other immigrants not enrolled in the program.

At the end of the three-year period, workers could choose either to renew their guest worker status for another three years or to return to their country of origin.

Wharton sophomore Michael Toto, outreach director for the College Republicans, spoke in support of the measure.

"The INS wastes so many resources going after these people," Toto said, emphasizing the harsh conditions illegal immigrants face.

He stressed, however, that the program "is not amnesty."

College sophomore Dan De Rosa, off-campus outreach chairman for the Penn Democrats, said the proposal was lacking.

"While there are some good points" in Bush's plan, he said, there are "still things that need to be addressed."

As it stands, De Rosa said, if an employer "withdraws sponsorship" of a guest worker, that worker "has to go home."

"That can lead to the employer exploiting the worker in a lot of different ways," he cautioned, advocating a program oriented toward granting permanent residency, a status that offers more legal protections.

Toto countered that "this is not amnesty. This is not a permanent residency program."

"If the worker wants to apply for permanent residency or citizenship, he can do that but won't receive priority over people who came here legally," he added.

Although Toto and De Rosa disagreed on the ability of existing labor laws to protect guest workers under Bush's plan, discussion was largely civil.

"This issue has never been a strictly partisan issue," Toto said.

Smith agreed.

"The parties have always been internally divided on these issues," he said.

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