[] Background and context Rep. Jim Kolbe, Sen.

The Debate Over Guest- Worker Programs. Many elected officials in the American government have recommended creating a guest- worker program to address the issue of. Pros and Cons of Guest Workers. Simon argued for a guest worker program under which foreign workers would be permitted to remain in the US for three to five. Pro & Con: Improve border security, guest worker systems. Regarding guest workers. An efficient guest worker program would give an advantage to law-abiding.

John McCain, and Rep. Jeff Flake introduced a guest-worker bill in 2003. - 'The bill would create two categories of visa — one for foreigners who want to enter the United States to work, and the other for illegal immigrants already holding jobs here.

The new foreign workers would have to be matched with an employer and would have a chance to earn permanent residence at the end of a three-year work period. Meanwhile, those already here illegally would have to pay a fine and work for two three-year periods before applying for legal residency.' - President Bush came out in January, 2004 in support of this legislation, although he 'has been vocal since 2001 on the need for a guest worker program.' Later, John McCain and Ted Kennedy's Senate 2611 bill that aimed to create a special guest worker program for an estimated 1.5 million immigrant farm workers, as well as provide 200,000 new temporary guest-worker visas a year. Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz. Invalid Request Code Adobe Cc. ) made a similar proposal calling for a guest worker program in which workers would be issued a temporary work visa for two years and be required to go back home for one year. Workers could participate up to three times. The guest worker program has largely been framed within the wider debate between the comprehensive immigration reform packages of Senate bill 2611 and H.R.

4437, which widely diverge in philosophy. The guest worker provision and 'path to citizenship' in S.

2611 is the legislation's primary distinguishing feature as more tolerant and inclusive of illegal immigrants. 4437 has no such provision, and makes many motions to the opposite effect, such as increasing to a felony the base level charge for residing in the US without documentation. Therefore, the guest worker debate is a pivotal question within with wider philosophical divide present on immigration reform going into the 110th Congress. [] Yes Argument that the Guest Worker program, as envisioned in S. 2611, is not 'amnesty' because the illegals that would register for the program would have to pay a fine for having broken US law: Arlene Specter said in March, 2006 that the Guest Worker program 'is not an amnesty.'