Knight Ridder
WASHINGTON - The stage is set for one of the most contentious congressional debates in a decade: whether to legalize up to 11 million illegal migrants or compel them to leave the country.
Heading into a congressional election year, though, politics may trump policy, with nothing getting done.
President Bush, in his State of the Union address, repeated his proposal that Congress should pass a temporary worker program for illegals - allowing them to stay in the country and work legally for a period of time to be determined. His plan avoids use of the term ``amnesty,'' a code word for green cards that would eventually make them eligible for citizenship.
Posted by Richard at February 20, 2006