Bush plan to grant illegal immigrants legal status ‘a false promise’

Bush plan to grant illegal immigrants legal status ‘a false promise’

The sweeping policy overhaul, outlined on Wednesday night with few details, was criticised by many in the president's conservative Republican base of support, and by campaign groups who questioned whether it would do much to help immigrants.

Democrats were united in calling the plan a political ploy which offers a false promise of legitimacy for the illegal workers.

Decrying a system that now has "millions of hardworking men and women condemned to fear and insecurity in a massive undocumented economy", Mr Bush urged Congress to approve a temporary worker programme. The programme would be open to all illegal workers now in the US. Applicants who can show they have a job or for those still in their home countries, a job offer would get an initial three-year work permit which would be renewable for an unspecified period.

"We should have immigration laws that work and make us proud. Yet today we do not," Mr Bush said in the White House's East Room, which he entered to loud cheers from dozens of representatives from Hispanic organisations and immigration groups.

Allowing undocumented workers, who make up an unknown percentage of the approximately eight million illegal immigrants now in the US, to work legally would benefit all Americans, Mr Bush argued. He said it would make US borders more secure by allowing officials to focus on the real threats to the country and would meet employers' dire need for workers willing to take the low-wage, low-skill jobs not wanted by many Americans.

But the president's plan drew heated criticism from both the right and the left. Texas Republican Representative Lamar Smith claimed the Bush plan would make it harder to win the war on terrorism. "Guest worker programmes and gradual amnesty provide cover for terrorists," he said.

With about half the illegal immigrants estimated to be from Mexico, the programme was designed in part to win Bush increased support among the powerful Hispanic voting bloc in the November presidential election.