GOP Bill Ignores Bush's Guest-Worker Plan

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said his bill would tighten border security, require all businesses to verify that their employees are in the U.S. legally and increase penalties for those using illegal workers.

The White House supports those moves. But Sensenbrenner's measure ignores Bush's repeated call for creating a guest-worker program that would temporarily legalize the status of millions of workers who are in the nation illegally.

Bush has said a guest-worker program is the best way to persuade illegal workers to step forward while ensuring a steady labor supply for U.S. businesses that rely on them.

But a vocal minority of House Republicans opposes any guest-worker program as a type of amnesty that they say would only encourage more people to enter this country illegally.

Sensenbrenner said he supported a guest-worker program but left it out of his bill because the House could not reach a consensus over the details of such a plan.

The House Republican leadership plans to bring the measure to a vote next week, before Congress recesses for the holidays. It is expected to pass, although many Democrats may vote against it.

"Everyone recognizes our current immigration system is broken," Sensenbrenner said in a statement. "I anticipate this legislation will serve as a solid legislative foundation for tackling problems with our immigration system."

The bill's centerpiece is a provision that would require employers to verify the legal status of all employees by checking with the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security by phone or computer. It would expand a voluntary pilot program that has been in place since 1996 that gives employers three days after hiring workers to check their status with those agencies.

The measure would increase the $250 minimum penalty an employer pays for knowingly hiring an illegal worker to a minimum of $5,000.

It also would reimburse local law enforcement agencies in 29 counties along the U.S.-Mexico border for the costs of apprehending illegal immigrants.

"It would end the job magnet" attracting illegal workers to the U.S., said a House Judiciary Committee staff member, who briefed reporters on the bill's provisions on the condition of anonymity.