- EL CAMPO, Texas (Reuters)
-- Reeds sway tall and golden in the heart of the Texas rice belt, but
weeks into autumn some fields are idle as growers struggle to find farmhands
to help with the harvest.
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- But help could be on the way.
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- Several bills that would allow millions of illegal immigrants
to live and work legally in the United States have been proposed in the
U.S. Congress, two years after legalization efforts were derailed after
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. And analysts expect legislation to pass in
the months ahead.
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- "It's impossible to get people to help with the
planting, the harvesting and the weed control," said Steve Balis,
who has weathered 60 harvests on his 1,200-acre family farm near Eagle
Lake, Texas.
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- "The people who used to do this kind of work are
too old, or they've moved on to more profitable things. Those of us left
need help."
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- Backed by U.S. business and labor groups, a flurry of
bills from both Republicans and Democrats would grant guest worker visas
to many immigrants who want jobs in the United States and give legal status
to most already living here.
-
- Proponents say the legislation would also boost homeland
security because officials would have a record of most of the estimated
8 million to 10 million illegal immigrants in the United States.
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- "This common sense solution to our broken immigration
system addresses the need for better border security and acknowledges the
important contributions that immigrants make to our economy," Sen.
John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said when he proposed his plan.
-
- The issue of undocumented workers was dramatically highlighted
on Oct. 23 when hundreds of cleaning workers at Wal-Mart stores were arrested
across the United States on immigration charges.
-
- Before Sept. 11, President Bush and Mexican President
Vicente Fox were working on an agreement that would have legalized millions
of undocumented Mexican workers living in the United States and allowed
even more to enter the country legally under an expanded guest worker program.
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- That planned accord was a wider attempt to sort out the
immigration issue and would have given undocumented workers more permanent
residency.
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- But the Mexico-U.S. talks fell off the agenda as border
controls were tightened after the attacks.
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- Now, U.S. employers are eager to legalize migrant workers
to guarantee cheap and plentiful labor. Proponents say registering foreign
workers makes good sense in a post-Sept. 11 world.
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- FINDING FAVOR BEFORE ELECTIONS
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- And experts said they expect legislation to be passed
in the coming months, as Democrats and Republicans try to curry favor with
Hispanic voters in advance of the 2004 U.S. elections.
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- Now the administration is working on an immigration proposal
of its own, Cornyn's aides were told when they met with Bush's staff in
hopes of garnering support for their bill.
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- Christian Ramirez with the American Friends Service Committee
aid group in San Diego said economic and security issues have made the
time right for passage of a guest worker bill.
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- "We are seeing a change in the way that legislators
look at the issue of undocumented migrants, especially people who are already
in the U.S. and are contributing to the economy," Ramirez said.
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- However, he said he is concerned the legislation will
be accompanied by stricter enforcement policies to discourage illegal immigration
on the U.S.-Mexico border.
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- To satisfy security concerns, most of the plans provide
for background checks and have a waiting period. But other key issues are
legalization for undocumented migrants already living in the United States,
expansion of a plan to allow workers to enter the country legally and legal
permanent residency.
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- Cornyn's Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of
2003 would allow seasonal workers to stay in the United States for up to
nine consecutive months and non-seasonal workers up to a year for a maximum
of 36 months, but it is not a guaranteed route to permanent residency.
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- Legislation proposed by Republican Sen. John McCain of
Arizona, would give undocumented workers a means of obtaining permanent
legal residency but levies a fine of $1,500 for those who have been here
illegally.
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- The Unity, Security, Accountability and Family Act with
16 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives is the most comprehensive,
giving legal residency to workers' spouses and children, including those
who do not reside in the United States.
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- In Texas, Balis said he would welcome an influx of willing
and able workers.
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- Although Balis has been able to keep his fields from
lying fallow, the money he makes depends upon the purity of the rice. And
there just aren't enough hands to help him weed.
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- "Even with machines to do some of the work, you
have to have someone who can recognize the weeds and pull them out. People
now days don't want to pull weeds out of the rice fields when it's 100
degrees outside."
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- http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=ourWorldNews&storyID=3722958
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