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CNN Live At Daybreak

Reacting to President Bush's Plan

Aired January 08, 2004 - 05:05   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, it would let workers stay 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)

COSTELLO: Illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for a number of years say there's nothing to gain from the Bush plan.

CNN's Frank Buckley talks to one of the so-called underground workers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She asked us to call her Tina Gonzalez, trusted us not to show her face. She is in the U.S. illegally. She has been for 15 years. It began the night she crossed by foot at San Ysidro, like thousands before her and thousands since. She ran across the freeway with her husband and four young children. She made it to the fields and became a farm worker.

These hands picked countless cherries and pears and peaches and did the work, she says, that Americans didn't want to do.

"TINA GONZALEZ," UNDOCUMENTED WORKER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Well, we, the workers, we clean the houses of the rich, we take care of the children of the rich, we sew the pants for people. In the fields, we bring to the table fruits and vegetables.

BUCKLEY: She lives in a neighborhood of Los Angeles that few would consider desirable. But Mrs. Gonzalez, who is 50 now, still appreciates this country. An American flag hangs in her living room. She's worked in the fields of America, in its restaurants, in its garment industry. It is a simple life with her husband and children and grandchildren. She came for a simple reason. GONZALEZ: I wanted a better future for my children and my grandchildren.

BUCKLEY: She says the proposal by President Bush, in her view, falls short of expectations. A promise of three years is an offer that is unlikely to lure her to apply for a work permit after 15 years in the underground economy. What she would like is legitimacy in a country that demands her labor.

GONZALEZ: We want respect for civil rights because we're human beings. We're just like everyone else.

BUCKLEY: Working in the shadows.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.

(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 - 05:05   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, it would let workers stay 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)

COSTELLO: Illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for a number of years say there's nothing to gain from the Bush plan.

CNN's Frank Buckley talks to one of the so-called underground workers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She asked us to call her Tina Gonzalez, trusted us not to show her face. She is in the U.S. illegally. She has been for 15 years. It began the night she crossed by foot at San Ysidro, like thousands before her and thousands since. She ran across the freeway with her husband and four young children. She made it to the fields and became a farm worker.

These hands picked countless cherries and pears and peaches and did the work, she says, that Americans didn't want to do.

"TINA GONZALEZ," UNDOCUMENTED WORKER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Well, we, the workers, we clean the houses of the rich, we take care of the children of the rich, we sew the pants for people. In the fields, we bring to the table fruits and vegetables.

BUCKLEY: She lives in a neighborhood of Los Angeles that few would consider desirable. But Mrs. Gonzalez, who is 50 now, still appreciates this country. An American flag hangs in her living room. She's worked in the fields of America, in its restaurants, in its garment industry. It is a simple life with her husband and children and grandchildren. She came for a simple reason. GONZALEZ: I wanted a better future for my children and my grandchildren.

BUCKLEY: She says the proposal by President Bush, in her view, falls short of expectations. A promise of three years is an offer that is unlikely to lure her to apply for a work permit after 15 years in the underground economy. What she would like is legitimacy in a country that demands her labor.

GONZALEZ: We want respect for civil rights because we're human beings. We're just like everyone else.

BUCKLEY: Working in the shadows.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.

(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