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Bush's Immigration Plan Supports the Corporatists on the Right

By Jeralyn, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Sun Jan 11, 2004 at 05:00:08 AM EST
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Dave Neiwart of Orcinus has an excellent analysis of reaction on the right to Bush's immigration reform plan :

The uproar over George W. Bush's proposal for immigration reform has revealed a significant rift within the American right -- namely, between its corporatist element, whose primary interest lies in exploiting the low wages that immigrants provide, and its ideological element, which sees immigrants as part of a brown tide on the verge of permanently swamping the majority white culture.

The Bush plan comes down squarely on the side of the corporatists -- unsurprisingly, since those interests throughout his administration have held sway in nearly every aspect of governance. That in turn has spurred the intense anger of the ideological right, who are hotly denouncing Bush's "betrayal of America."

Update: Janice Fine, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, tells us the three serious flaws of Bush's plan:

First, the proposal gives too much power to employers.

....Second, by requiring workers to access the program through employers, the proposal fails to take current labor market realities into account.

....Third, because the proposal provides legal status for a temporary time period and is completely separated from the green card process, it doesn't provide enough of an incentive for undocumented workers to want to participate.

What's the solution? According to Ms. Fine:

A real solution for undocumented workers would not place all the power with employers and would not tie eligibility to a specific employment relationship. It would provide access to workers who can demonstrate that they have worked in the United States for a significant period of time. It would offer incentives to workers to come forward by connecting it to permanent residency and citizenship programs. And it would be tied to a strong new set of low-wage labor market policies, protections, and enforcement mechanisms.

And the final question:

What does it say about our American values and commitments that more than 7 million people, people who clean our homes, hotels, and offices, tend our gardens, sew our clothing, and care for our children and elders, have none of the economic and political rights the rest of us enjoy?

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