Through a vagary in my job, I was sitting in front of a TV this morning watching the Despierta America news on Univision, the nationwide Spanish-language channel. The news reporter was interviewing some Mexican government officials as well as other people about the upcoming speech and policy change on
immigration by the Bush administration.
What were they talking about, I asked myself?
From
yesterday:
Q Will the President present outlines or legislation when he talks about immigration tomorrow?
MR. McCLELLAN: One, I think you need to wait for the speech. But the President has been working on this plan for a good while. As you have heard the President say, the President believes America should be a welcoming society. We are a nation of immigrants and we are better and stronger for the contribution immigrants have made to our nation. And we have been looking at meeting an important economic need. Immigration laws should meet our economic needs. And if employers are offering jobs to Americans that Americans are not willing to fill, then we ought to welcome to our country those who will fill that job. And so the President will talk more tomorrow about his plans for matching willing workers with willing employers.
I would point out that this discussion originally began back in February 2001 with President Fox when the President visited Mexico. And it was part of our efforts to bring about a more orderly, more humane, safe and legal migration policy. And that's where this comes from.
Q But many members of Congress oppose anything that they would see as an amnesty for a job that went to workers already in the country illegally.
MR. McCLELLAN: I think the President has made it very clear that he is opposed to any blanket amnesty. He said that as recently as his last news conference before we had the holiday break.
Q But he's going to allow workers to be hired if they're in the country, right, as long as it's all legal?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, he's going to have more to say about this tomorrow. At the same time we've been moving forward on this policy, we previously have taken extraordinary steps to improve our border security and to strengthen our border security. We have worked to improve our immigration infrastructure, and now we are at a point where the President will be talking more about how we move forward on his efforts to match willing workers with willing employers. And that's what this is about.
Q Scott, there isn't a blank slate here. This has been complex for a while. And in September of 2001, the President said just that -- this is a really difficult, complex issue for his own party, because even then he acknowledged the fact that conservatives believe that even a sort of guest worker program has the effect of rewarding illegal immigration, perhaps being unfair to those who have followed the rules, followed the law, and earned their citizenship after a period of time. So what's the President prepared to do now to overcome that opposition, and what makes him think --
MR. McCLELLAN: You will hear from him tomorrow, and he will talk about that. But I made it very clear a minute ago, as the President has previously made clear, that he is not talking about a blanket amnesty here. He's talking about it meeting an economic need. There is an economic need here in this country and this is about matching willing workers with willing employers. That's what this is about.
Q But you still haven't answered the question --
MR. McCLELLAN: And making sure immigration laws are fair and make sure that they are meeting our economic needs.
Q But the American people, when they hear the President lay out a policy, it's one thing to say, here are some principles, go to it, and if you make it, I tried -- you know, if you don't make, at least I tried -- versus coming up with a specific proposal. So what's it going to be? Does he have a specific plan to say to Congress, get it done?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think you will hear about his plan tomorrow. He will be talking specifically about his plan for matching willing workers with willing employers tomorrow. I think it is a detailed approach to addressing this issue.
The consensus among the people voicing their opinion on Univision was that this new immigration policy is specifically designed to woo Hispanic voters in the 2004 elections. They reinforced this position by stating that Bush had waited until the fourth year of his administration to implement policies he had hinted at when he was running in 1999/2000. One easily remembers his initial burst of "friendship" with President Vincente Fox of Mexico which soon petered out until almost nothing.
Ironically, on the other side of the Bush administration, Asa Hutchinson (of the Department of Homeland Security) has been making digs at the matricula consular. I saw this yesterday on PBS' News Hour program but their transcripts are unavailable regrettably.
The matricula consular is an identity document that is issued by the Mexican government to any citizen who requests one, specifically in this case their citizens in the US. The matricula consular is not some flimsy cardboard square, it is a modern plastic card with embedded security features and holograms and all of that. To get one, a citizen must provide about the same amount of documentation as an American would need to get a passport, i.e. a birth certificate etc.
Now, the big deal with the matricula consular, for those of you who don't live in states where it's an issue, is that the matricula consular is often times the first real identification document that undocumented Mexicans (and other nationals) in the United States can carry. Depending on the jurisdiction and the state, carriers of the matricula consular can open a bank account, get a line of credit and get an American driver's license. It's a very divisive issue in some states because it is considered to be "endorsing" undocumented workers in the United States, allowing them to show ID to local law enforcement during traffic stops, write checks, get credit cards, possibly even get car loans or homes as well. The banking industry in particular is in favor of the matricula consular because so many undocumented workers send money home to relatives in other countries and they wanted a piece of this "action".
Now, Asa Hutchinson's bitch with the matricula consular is not that it endorses undocumented workers or that it creates for them a sort of semi-legal status in this country, or that the documents are easily forged or obtained or any of that nonsense. No, what's got a bee in his bonnet is that the Mexican government does not keep its matricular consular database in a central location that the Americans can get access to. That's why he's upset. The Americans can't compile lists of Mexican citizens.
Here is a review of Bush's remarks today:
PROGRAM OVERVIEW: A guest worker arrangement under which foreign workers are given special visas to enter the United States to take a specific job which has gone unfilled by U.S. workers. It is a temporary arrangement - the worker is given a 3-year permit, which can be renewed for a not-yet-specified number of times, after which the worker must return to his home country.
The program applies not only to prospective workers abroad, but also to the estimated 8 million illegal aliens already in the United States. Illegal immigrants now working in the country would be deemed filling an employer need by virtue of their employment.
The illegal worker coming forward to join the program will not face deportation for having violated immigration rules. The current employer would not be penalized either.
Those under the program would be allowed to travel freely in and out of the country.
WAGES AND BENEFITS. All workers under the program must be paid at least the legal minimum wage. Social security would also be deducted, and the workers would be eligible for normal workmen benefits under U.S. law.
Then plan calls for creation of special savings accounts for temporary workers to help provide them with a nest egg when they return to their home countries. There would also be other incentives for eventually returning home.
FAMILY ACCOMPANIMENT. Workers under the program would be allowed to bring their immediate family to the country providing they could prove they could support them. The family would also be governed by the temporary residence status of the permitted worker.
CITIZENSHIP/PERMANENT RESIDENCY. The temporary worker program would not be linked to normal permanent residency and citizenship immigration tracks, nor would it be considered an advantage in applying for a green card. Temporary workers who wanted to settle permanently in the United States would have to follow normal procedures already in place.
So there you have it, my analysis in a nutshell of Bush's electoral strategy of appeasing both his big business constituents (never doubt that every mouthful of food you eat passed through undocumented workers' hands) and also to try and win more Latino votes in 2004.
Peace!
-Soj