[Polybius]

I don't mind having a guest worker program for certain industries, but that doesn't mean bringing the whole family.

E.g., the "Bracero Program". It worked...until LBJ pandered to the Cesar Chavez crowd.

Exactly.

When I was stationed in Guantanamo, the Navy had a "contract worker" program so that Jamaicans could come to the Guantanamo Naval Base for a specified contract time to mow lawns, work in the chow halls, paint buildings, pick up garbage, etc., so that our U.S. Marines could be manning the Fence-line and protecting the base instead of dishing out S.O.S. for breakfast. Apparently, the Navy still has such a program at GTMO which now includes Filipinos. (See below)

After the contract period, the Jamaican worker returned to his family in Jamaica to enjoy spending his U.S. dollars.

Rinse and repeat.

However, for some reason I do not understand, any mention of "Contract Worker Program" seems to bring out cries of Amnesty! Amnesty! Amnesty!"

Foreign workers at Guantanamo benefit from war

[9YearLurker]

No need for a guest worker anything with 18% effective unemployment.

[Leaning Right]

After the contract period, the Jamaican worker returned to his family in Jamaica

But remember that the Jamaican had no other alternative. What under-the-table job could he find in Guantanamo?

And where in Guantanamo could he hid out?

Things are very different on the mainland. After the contract period, the illegal could easily disappear.

That's effectively amnesty. The illegal is here, he's not going back, and the government is going to do nothing about it.