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Quoted from The Washington Times 23 Mar 02 by Bill Sammon
"After his speech, Mr. Bush met with Mexican President Vicente Fox, who wants the United States to expand its guest-worker program for Mexicans and grant amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens. Mr. Bush agrees with the proposal, but acknowledges the American public would not support granting blanket amnesty to the several million Mexicans who are living in the United States illegally.
"A senior administration official said a bill before the U.S. Senate granting amnesty to 200,000 of those Mexicans is part of an "incremental" approach to the immigration issue. The official was asked by The Washington Times if that means the president favors an even-greater relaxation of immigration rules that stops short of blanket amnesty . . .
"During a joint news conference last night with Mr. Fox, Mr. Bush made clear that he considers the bill before the Senate, known as 245(I), to be merely a first step in a broader effort to give special treatment to Mexican illegals.
"'Beyond 245-I, which is the family reunification act, is first of all understanding the unique nature of the Mexican in our country,' he said. 'The Mexican national is different by virtue of the fact of proximity to the United States.' . . .
"Prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, Mr. Fox had called for looser immigration laws by the end of last year. This was viewed as politically advantageous to Mr. Bush, who has long courted Hispanic voters.
"But after the attacks, the American public called for stricter, not looser, control of borders. Recognizing the altered political landscape, Mr. Fox has instead called for expansion of guest-worker programs and amnesty for a smaller group of illegals.
"'This type of policy was tried in the 1950s and 1960s and touched off massive permanent illegal immigration to the United States,' said Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
"'The alternative that Fox is offering relies on the revival of a failed guest-worker program that has served the interests of neither the United States nor Mexico,' Mr. Stein said. 'As enticing as the words 'temporary' and 'guest worker' might sound, we know from experience in this country and elsewhere around the world that there is nothing temporary about these schemes.' "
The other poster got ticked off because I asked him/her to cite a bill that passed and was signed and called me asinine and something else I can't remember. If anyone else believes an amnesty bill has been passed and signed or even a pocket veto (I searched on FR and couldn't find any such article) feel free to let me know.