The Pence Immigration Compromise: Yes to Guest Workers, No to Amnesty

The discussion in the previous post about the possibility of separating support for a foreign-citizen guest worker program from support for granting amnesty to current illegal immigrants, vis-a-vis the Rhode Island Senate campaign, turns out to be very timely indeed. (Once again, Anchor Rising -- and its commenters -- bring you the details of our nation's most important policy debates before government decisions become faits-accomplis.

In direct response to the immigration package recently approved by the Senate, Congressman Mike Pence of Inidiana has proposed a compromise, outlined in Sunday’s OpinionJournal, that says yes to guest workers but no to amnesty...

This bill is tough on border security and tough on employers who hire illegal aliens. It will include a guest worker program -- but it will not include an amnesty (nor require a huge new government bureaucracy to administer the program). I believe this legislation is a strong alternative to the amnesty plan passed by the Senate…

To strengthen border security and toughen enforcement of exisiting immigration law, Congressman Pence proposes implementing the enforcement-first immigration bill passed last December by the House of Representatives...

Since immigration reform must begin by securing our border, my plan incorporates the Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act, already passed by the House, in its entirety, with only minor changes. Thus my plan will add port-of-entry inspectors, end the policy of "catch and release," put to use American technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles, require a security fence to be built across our southern border, and require the Secretary of Homeland Security to certify that all these border security measures are substantially completed before any new guest worker program would begin....

My immigration bill includes strict employer enforcement. It does so by incorporating the employer-enforcement provisions contained in the House-passed Border Protection bill. Thus, there will be established a nationwide electronic employment-verification system through which employers will confirm the legality of each prospective and current employee.

Next, Congressman Pence proposes implementing a guest-worker program, once the border has been secured. In the Congressman's version of a guest worker program, citizens of other countries would meet with potential employers and apply for the appropriate visa while outside of the borders of the US…

Private worker-placement agencies -- "Ellis Island Centers" -- would be licensed by the federal government to match guest workers with jobs that employers cannot fill with American workers. These agencies will match guest workers with jobs, perform health screening, fingerprint them, and convey the appropriate information to the FBI and Homeland Security so that a background check can be performed. Once this is done, the guest worker would be provided with a visa issued by the State Department. The whole process will take a matter of one week, or less.

My immigration reform plan does not favor illegal immigrants. Anyone may apply for a guest-worker visa at the new Ellis Island Centers; indeed, the plan may actually work to the advantage of applicants who have never violated our immigration laws, since guest-worker visas will be issued only outside the U.S.

And third, well, technically, there is no third. If the first two parts of his program are implemented, Congressman Pence does not believe it necessary to offer general amnesty towards any current illegal immigrants, nor to place guest workers on an automatic “path to citizenship”...

After six years, a guest worker must decide whether to return home or seek citizenship. But he will do so under the normal rules and regulations of our naturalization laws. There is no path to citizenship in my bill.

Congressman Pence is very well respected within conservative and Republican circles. The fact that he is promoting a guest-worker program suggests that the concept probably has enough support amongst House Republicans to pass, meaning that the debate betwen the House and the Senate over immigration policy now boils down to two straightforward questions...

1. Should the US secure its border before proceding with any programs -- be they guest woker programs or an amensty offers -- that change the visa status of current illegal immigrants, or should it procede with those programs whether or not the border is secure?
2. Should the US offer a "general amesty" to illegal immigrants currently here -- i.e. allow citizens of other countries currently here illegally to immediately participate in guest worker and/or naturalization programs -- or should the US offer instead what is properly called "exit amnesty", allowing foreign nationals illegally within the US today to participate in future legal immigration programs, so long as they voluntarily leave the US first?