WASHINGTON, Jan 7: US President George W. Bush on Wednesday proposed sweeping changes in immigration policy that could enable millions of undocumented aliens to work legally in the United States for a limited time.

"Out of common sense and fairness, our laws should allow willing workers to enter our country and fill jobs" that US citizens do not want, he said in a speech at the White House.

The number of illegal immigrants hiding from authorities in the United States is now estimated to constitute over three per cent of the country's population, according to official projections.

The US Immigration and Naturalization Service estimated there were some seven million illegal immigrants living in the US in 2000 and that this number could soon reach between eight million and nine million.

America's illegal immigrant population is growing by some 350,000 annually, according to an INS study of the past decade. The broad immigration reform proposal, unveiled by the US president, could enable millions of undocumented aliens to work legally in the United States for a limited time.

Administration officials say such immigrants should be granted the same protections as US workers, but analysts said the move could represent a play for votes as the 2004 presidential election lurches closer.

Such immigrants are seen as key to many sectors the economy, performing agricultural and services jobs scorned by many Americans. The majority of illegal immigrants come from South America, with the lion's share coming from neighbouring Mexico.

The 3,200-kilometre-long US-Mexico border provides many gaps to Mexicans looking for a new life in the United States. The INS pegged the number of illegal Mexican immigrants here at 4.8 million in 2000, or 69 percent of the total number of illegals residing in the country.

However, Asian illegals also complement the country's hidden citizenry. The INS estimated that 115,000 illegal Chinese immigrants lived in the US in 2000, by comparison with 85,000 Filipinos, 70,000 Indians and 55,000 South Koreans.Some 76,000 illegals were from Haiti, and 47,000 from Canada, the data showed.-AFP