Tornado Alley (PROG)

[F6]

Bush Plan or Not, Illegal Immigrants Flock to U.S.
Tue February 3, 2004 02:32 PM ET

By Deborah Tedford

LAREDO, Texas (Reuters) - A White House proposal to help millions of mostly Hispanic immigrants legally join the U.S. work force did not deter of thousands of undocumented migrants from entering the United States last month and may even have encouraged many.

Officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said on Tuesday that border patrol agents apprehended 92,634 illegal migrants along the Mexico border in January -- the most for that month since 2001.

January is traditionally a busy month for illegal immigration as impoverished Hispanics trek northward in hopes of finding jobs during the agriculture industry's busy spring planting season.

T.R. Bonner, president of the union representing Border Patrol agents, estimated illegal crossings had increased by 10 to 11 percent since President Bush announced the plan as many illegal migrants believed they would eventually receive amnesty.

Bush unveiled a proposal last month that would grant three-year renewable work permits to millions of foreign workers and enable illegal immigrants now in the United States to gain temporary legal status.

But Bush and Republicans in Congress are careful not to use the word amnesty for the immigration reform and most oppose a blanket amnesty for those who entered the country illegally.

Under the Bush plan, foreigners abroad could only apply for the temporary visas provided they had jobs waiting for them in the United States.

Administration officials said one of the aims of the proposal was to end the underground economy where many illegals operate.

But Bonner told Reuters, "(Agents) are nervous about surges (in illegal immigration) in anticipation of amnesty. Agents are having people come up to them and ask where they go to sign up," he said.

A week ago, Jose Aguilar, 22, started his northward journey from El Salvador to return to his job as a carpenter in Pasadena, Texas. He was buoyed by the Bush plan, but admitted he would have returned anyway.

"We only want work," said Aguilar in Nuevo Laredo, the dusty border city in Mexico across the Rio Grande from Laredo. "We want money for food and clothes for our families."

POLL OF MIGRANTS

U.S. border patrol agents, who routinely question the migrants they arrest, conducted an official poll of illegal immigrants arrested last month to see if they had been motivated by Bush's plan, agents and agency officials said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials would not reveal the results, saying it was purely to provide intelligence for the Department of Homeland Security.

"We're very concerned that the ambiguity of Bush's proposal further plays on people's desperation and hope," said Christian Ramirez of the American Friends Service Committee aid group.

The January-to-March period traditionally sees a surge in illegal immigration as laborers return to the United States after breaks for Christmas and New Year.

"Those are the critical months for the border patrol," said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Gloria Chavez.

She said the latest survey was designed to help agents determine the tactics being used by coyotes -- smugglers who illegally transport people into the United States -- and whether they were using the Bush plan to entice people into the country.

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4274664