News Bytes

Former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a news conference last week, where he shared his thoughts on immigration policy.  The East Valley Tribune of Mesa , AZ reports that Romney was critical of the immigrant amnesty bill offered last year by Sen. McCain and Sen. Kennedy, which he viewed as providing a “virtual amnesty” for undocumented immigrants already in the U.S. , providing them with an unfair advantage.

“There should not be an advantage given to people who are here illegally to do so,” Romney said.  “So, whether somebody is in, let’s say, Argentina , that wants to apply for citizenship or a green card, or somebody who’s in New Bedford , who’s not legal today, they get in the same line – no advantage towards a path towards citizenship.”  Romney offered no immediate alternative plan for the estimate 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. ; he said officials must first determine how many there are and who they are.

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According to the Associated Press, a civil rights organization want Congress to closely examine guestworker programs that they believe are abusive, before creating a new one to curb illegal immigration. The Southern Poverty Law Center said in a report titled “Close to Slavery” that workers are routinely cheated of wages, forced to turn over deeds to homes and pay thousands in fees to recruiters, leaving them beholden to unscrupulous employers to pay off debt.

Before Congress and Bush create a new guestworker program, the center recommends workers be allowed to become legal, permanent residents, with their families, over time. That proposal has been backed by some supporters of immigration changes, but is opposed by some conservatives. Bob Dolibois, executive vice president of the American Landscape and Nursery Association, a supporter of creating the new program, said “exploitation stems from unrealistic caps on workers’ visas and failure to address the 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the country.”

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