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American Morning

White House Faces Mexican Immigration Decision

Aired July 16, 2001 - 10:04   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The Bush administration is considering whether to grant legal residency to millions of undocumented Mexican immigrants living in the United States. The possibility of such a broad amnesty is outlined in a report on immigration due at the White House today.

Senior White House correspondent John King joins us now. He's got more -- John, good morning.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, that report, when it reaches the president's desk, will begin to reignite the often contentious debate in this country, especially in the United States Congress, over the broad issue of illegal immigration and, of course, the specific issue, what to do with those already in the United States illegally?

There are more than three million Americans believed to be in the United States under illegal circumstances. As you mentioned, one of the proposals, not a recommendation, we are told, but a proposal of U.S.-Mexican negotiations on cross-broader issues is for President Bush to seek to legalize, over a period of several years, more than three million Mexicans who entered this country illegally but have been here now for several years.

This is an issue President Bush and the Mexican President Vicente Fox promised to discuss at the highest level when they first met back in February. The leaders have met again and have discussed it. They have a high level delegation, including the secretary of state, Colin Powell, the attorney general, John Ashcroft, on the U.S. side, addressing these issues.

Now, if the president were to take that proposal and make it into a recommendation, he would have to ask the Congress for permission to do that. That would cause a contentious debate. That is one proposal, to perhaps legalize the status of more than three million Mexicans in this country illegally. Other issues sure to be addressed in this report, we're told, an outline of a new guest worker program that would allow Mexicans to come into the United States and earn money and take even a chunk of that money out of their payroll taxes so they could save it and send it back home to relatives, U.S. officials stressing to us this is in its early stages.

The proposal is just being made to the president. He will have to decide what steps to take from there. But certainly that one proposal, perhaps legalizing the status of more than three million Mexicans illegally in the United States, already the source of some contention here in Washington -- Leon?

HARRIS: All right, I'm going to ask you about some of that contention, John. Are those, what about those who are, the critics who are just saying this is strictly an outreach for more votes by the president?

KING: Well, some critics will say this is an attempt, the president has spent a lot of time in his first six months in office courting the Hispanic vote, whether it be Cuban-Americans, whether they be Mexican-Americans, Puerto Rican Americans. Certainly some critics will say that. Other critics will say why reward people who entered this country illegally?

But supporters of this say, one, this is reality. These people who have entered the United States, many of them have been here many years now. Number two, many supporters of such amnesty plans say the U.S. economy needs these workers.

So, again, once this issue is formally presented to the Congress, regardless of what the specific recommendations are, this is a very contentious issue.

HARRIS: John King at the White House, thanks much.

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