Is Focus on 'Illegal' or 'Workers'?
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THE NATION
Is Focus on 'Illegal' or 'Workers'?
Some businesses fear the president cares less about their labor needs
than the immigration violations that much of his base sees as a
priority.
By Warren Vieth
Times Staff Writer
November 20, 2005
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration's increasingly tough talk on
illegal immigration is scaring some business allies and trade groups as
it seeks their support for a broad overhaul of immigration laws.
Uncertainty about President Bush's intentions has caused start-up
problems for a business coalition created at the White House's request
to help finance promotion of changes to immigration laws.
Anxiety could rise when Bush and other administration officials step up
their rhetoric after Thanksgiving. Some officials are calling December
"Border Security Month."
When Bush first outlined his immigration proposals in early 2004, he
called for a guest worker program that would grant temporary work visas
to undocumented immigrants already here and to prospective workers
abroad, a top objective of businesses that rely heavily on immigrant
labor. The president also called for a renewed crackdown on border
security, a priority of immigration "hawks," who form a large part of
the Republican base.
But recently, a perceived presidential emphasis on border security has
left many businesses worried about how committed he is to a guest
worker plan, which they consider essential to any reform legislation.
"Businesses have put a line in the sand, if you will," said Laura
Reiff, an immigration attorney who is co-chairwoman of the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce-organized Essential Worker Immigration Coalition. "We want
to make it clear we don't think enforcement-only is the way to go. It
has to be comprehensive."
The president's perceived shift in emphasis has caused problems for the
coalition the White House organized this summer, Americans for Border
and Economic Security.
The group started with a fundraising goal of $3 million to promote the
president's vision of immigration reform, aiming to sign up companies
and trade groups for memberships costing $50,000 to $250,000. It got
few takers and has since reduced the price of admission to a minimum of
$25,000 and a maximum of $75,000, according to people who have been
approached by the group.
Key leaders of Americans for Border and Economic Security are former
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, former Rep. Cal
Dooley (D-Calif.) and former House Republican leader Dick Armey of
Texas. Initial organizing sessions, held in the Washington offices of
Gillespie's lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, were attended
by representatives of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Microsoft Corp., Tyson
Foods Inc., the American Hospital Assn., and the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, among others.
A spokeswoman for Microsoft would not say whether the firm had joined
the coalition. Representatives of the other organizations said they
declined to join or had not yet decided.
Several other firms and groups contacted in recent days, including the
American Farm Bureau, American Health Care Assn. and American Nursery &
Landscape Assn., said they had chosen not to participate.
Most of those contacted said they were reluctant to join Gillespie's
group because it was not clear how hard the president would push for
comprehensive overhaul or how soon the House and Senate would enact
broad legislation. A few said they were also deterred by the high cost
of membership or were already participating in the Essential Worker
Immigration Coalition, the advocacy group organized by the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce.
Another worry for businesses has been the lack of clarity over what
type of guest worker program the White House will ultimately endorse.
In recent congressional testimony, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said
Bush favored requiring workers to go back to their countries of origin
after six years. That is more strict than business-backed proposals to
let undocumented workers remain in America and apply for citizenship
after paying fines for having entered the country illegally.
With an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants comprising roughly
5% of the U.S. workforce, many businesses believe that attempting to
make them leave would disrupt the U.S. economy, devastate some
agricultural sectors and labor-intensive industries, drain government
resources and require one of the biggest mass migrations in history.
"If you don't provide some kind of accommodation, these 11 million
people are not going to come out of the shadows but are going to remain
underground," said Dooley, who heads the Food Products Assn. "The
United States is now their home, by and large. The overwhelming
majority are gainfully employed, have families here and are making
positive contributions to our economy. It would not be in this
country's interest to force them to leave."
John Gay, co-chairman of the Chamber-organized Essential Worker
Immigration Coalition, said: "Business continues to be concerned that
there is no clear position on some very, very important issues from the
White House. It does not want to be locked into a group that would
support a White House position regardless of what business' position
is."
Terry Holt, a spokesman for Americans for Border and Economic Security,
said his group had successfully recruited members since the summer, but
he declined to identify any by name or to specify the number of
dues-paying participants.
Holt said the organization was not just a mouthpiece for the White
House, and it would faithfully represent the views of members on issues
such as guest workers. Still, he acknowledged that his coalition saw
its primary role as articulating the president's version of immigration
reform.
"In a nutshell, after the president gives a major speech on
immigration, there needs to be an argument made about what that means
and why people should care," said Holt. "We want to be the organization
that offers that."
Although many advocates of immigration-law overhaul insist publicly
that they remain united, several business lobbyists and White House
allies acknowledged that immigration had split the conservative
coalition.
On one side are backers of a "holistic" approach that would balance
tougher border security and interior enforcement with a guest worker
program providing 11 million undocumented workers with an eventual path
to citizenship that would not necessarily require them to move back to
their countries of origin. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many
businesses back legislative proposals that take this approach.
On the other side are activists who want to crack down on illegal
border crossings and workplace violations before considering guest
worker programs. Many of these activists also oppose guest worker
proposals that let undocumented workers stay in this country, proposals
they consider a form of amnesty. Some want to require guest workers to
leave the country after several years of working legally in the
country, but some back legislation that would force undocumented
workers to return home before they could even apply to be a guest
worker.
The competing interests have put Bush in a political bind. If he
appears soft on border enforcement and undocumented workers, he risks
alienating immigration hawks who are part of the Republican political
base. If he moves too far to the right, he risks alienating many
businesses, Wall Street and Latino voters, whom the party has been
courting.
The House appears poised to take up border crackdown legislation in
December, leaving aside the issue of guest workers, possibly until
after the 2006 midterm elections.
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), who heads a House caucus that backs
stiffer border restrictions, said immigration hawks were heartened by
the president's emphasis on enforcement.
"I certainly see a shift; that is undeniable," said Tancredo, who has
sparred with the White House over immigration policy. "I think we're
going to see in the next month a big push on this, where members of the
leadership or the president himself will go down to the border."
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