We currently do not enforce our laws that forbid employers from hiring illegal aliens. All the employers know this and that is why they don't mind hiring illegal aliens. There is no reason to believe we will enforce these laws in the future, and the employers know this also.
If Bush enacts his guest work / amnesty program, their will be fees involved for paperwork and processing. While some employers will take the time and extra expense to hire a guest worker, many will not. The majority of jobs are paid under the table. Employers do this to save on paying taxes and other expenses. Hiring a guest worker in more expensive and cuts into the employers profit margin.
Mexicans will still be able to cross the border unimpeded, as they can do now and employers know there will be plenty of illegal aliens to hire.
There is no easy solution to the problem. We must get harsh with employers of illegal aliens and no one in government wants to do this. They said they would in 1996 and failed to follow through. Unless we enforce employer sanctions, no guest worker program will ever work, regardless of what others tell.
As an employer, I check their paperwork. But when I call the Social Security Administration to verify their SSN, I'm told that this information cannot be grounds for hiring or firing an employee. Go figure.
The laws are enforced here locally in Pa.Down the street from our thrift shop are many legal and working on being legal-we sell a lot of bikes:).