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CNN Live At Daybreak
Bush Immigration Plan Gets Mixed Reviews
Aired January 08, 2004 - 06:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats say it doesn't go far enough; Republicans say it goes too far. They are reacting to President Bush's plan to allow the eight million illegal immigrants living in this country to get status as temporary legal workers.
The plan still has to be fleshed out in talks between the administration and Congress. In its current form, though, it would let workers stay for a maximum of six years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All who participate in the Temporary Worker Program must have a job or, if not living in the United States, a job offer. The legal status granted by this program will last three years and will be renewable, but it will have an end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The president's immigration proposals are getting mixed reactions in Mexico. Officials in Mexico City welcomed the president's ideas, but others don't, as our Harris Whitbeck reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush's proposed immigration deal was just what Mexican President Vicente Fox wanted to hear: that the United States is at least interested in discussing what Mexico considers to be the most pressing issue on the bilateral agenda.
The Mexican foreign minister said there is now a clear opportunity to move forward on the search for solutions to the problems faced by millions of Mexican and Central American migrants.
But while Mexico says Bush's proposal is a recognition of the contributions made by Mexican migrants to the U.S. economy, not all approve of the president's message.
Some in Mexico expressed open mistrust of the U.S. president's intentions, like Gracia LeRosco (ph) of the Mexican-American Solidarity Foundation.
"It sounds like it responds more to the interests of employers in the U.S. who are desperate for cheap migrant labor," she says. "And it is obviously a political statement during this electoral year." Many in Mexico recall how Bush promised to focus on Latin America when he got to the White House three years ago, only to put the region on the back burner -- a lack of attention that was intensified after 9/11.
Many analysts say it is the Mexican president who could best benefit politically from Bush's proposal, because at least the emotional issue of illegal migration is being discussed.
(on camera): Both presidents will have the opportunity to demonstrate how serious they are about discussing the issue next week. Their bilateral meeting during the Summit of the Americas in the Monterrey will be dominated by immigration.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired January 8, 2004 - 06:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats say it doesn't go far enough; Republicans say it goes too far. They are reacting to President Bush's plan to allow the eight million illegal immigrants living in this country to get status as temporary legal workers.
The plan still has to be fleshed out in talks between the administration and Congress. In its current form, though, it would let workers stay for a maximum of six years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All who participate in the Temporary Worker Program must have a job or, if not living in the United States, a job offer. The legal status granted by this program will last three years and will be renewable, but it will have an end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The president's immigration proposals are getting mixed reactions in Mexico. Officials in Mexico City welcomed the president's ideas, but others don't, as our Harris Whitbeck reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush's proposed immigration deal was just what Mexican President Vicente Fox wanted to hear: that the United States is at least interested in discussing what Mexico considers to be the most pressing issue on the bilateral agenda.
The Mexican foreign minister said there is now a clear opportunity to move forward on the search for solutions to the problems faced by millions of Mexican and Central American migrants.
But while Mexico says Bush's proposal is a recognition of the contributions made by Mexican migrants to the U.S. economy, not all approve of the president's message.
Some in Mexico expressed open mistrust of the U.S. president's intentions, like Gracia LeRosco (ph) of the Mexican-American Solidarity Foundation.
"It sounds like it responds more to the interests of employers in the U.S. who are desperate for cheap migrant labor," she says. "And it is obviously a political statement during this electoral year." Many in Mexico recall how Bush promised to focus on Latin America when he got to the White House three years ago, only to put the region on the back burner -- a lack of attention that was intensified after 9/11.
Many analysts say it is the Mexican president who could best benefit politically from Bush's proposal, because at least the emotional issue of illegal migration is being discussed.
(on camera): Both presidents will have the opportunity to demonstrate how serious they are about discussing the issue next week. Their bilateral meeting during the Summit of the Americas in the Monterrey will be dominated by immigration.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
