President Bush still pushing illegal amnesty scheme
The Washington Times
President Bush said yesterday that his goal is eventually to expel "every single" illegal alien from the United States as his administration pressed Congress to pass a guest-worker program.
Although conceding that the administration cannot immediately deport the estimated 11 million illegal aliens who are here, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao told Congress that a temporary-worker program would give aliens an incentive to come out of hiding and let them work legally for six years before being forced to return home.
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As Mr. Bush was pushing his proposal, though, his nominee to lead the Citizenship and Immigration Services was telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that the agency, which probably would run such a guest-worker program, cannot do it right now.
"The systems that exist right now wouldn't be able to handle it," Emilio Gonzalez said, though he added that, if approved, he would take immediate steps to get the agency ready.
The Cabinet secretaries told the panel that deporting 11 million illegal aliens is impractical and too costly.
I think it would be hugely, hugely difficult to do this," Mr. Chertoff said. "A lot of these people would not want to be deported.