Immigration plan has wide range of skeptics: Both parties, some Hispanics raise doubts
The Bush Administration's new "Guest Worker Program" (or, as we like to call it 'round these parts, the "Look, Ethel, Now We Can Get Us A Servant, Too!!" program) is becoming all things to all people. The plan appears to be something of a cipher, with pundits seeing in the plan what ever it is that reflects back from their own particular prejudice. Depending on whether you listen to CNN or Fox New Channel, the Guest Worker Program is either a bow to the economic realities in this country, or unbarring the door and allowing the Mongol hordes to descend upon our women and children.
Of course, the reality is most likely somewhere in the middle. I have not yet seen enough of the plan to render an opinion, so I'm going to refrain from shooting from the lip. However, if it allows foreigners in this country to work and support their families with a degree of dignity AND at the same time to be free of the fear of deportation, it could well be a good thing.
If you listen to some Republicans, we are only rewarding illegals for being illegals. There seems to be a certain portion of the population that recognizes the need for people who will do our "dirty work", but yet refuses to recognize the need to allow these people to live free of fear and discrimination. If we need people to clean our houses, do our laundry, and tend our gardens, we need to be willing to grant them some basic rights. These are people we're talking about, not commodities.
Whether this plan will accomplish this remains to be seen. My fear is that this will become just another Bush method of rewarding his rich White benefactors. It could well turn into that, but I want to at least give Bush a chance to make his case.
