09 January 2004	Friday	16 Ziqa'ad 1424

WASHINGTON: The American dream may soon become reality for millions more people, if US President George W. Bush has it his way.

Bush on Wednesday proposed a sweeping overhaul of the country's immigration laws that would allow undocumented immigrants to come out of the "shadows" of society and pursue the dream of prosperity in broad daylight, with the proper paperwork in their pockets.

What a change that would be for the millions of people who made it to the United States under the cover of the night, often risking their lives in the harsh conditions of the Texas and Arizona deserts, hoping they wouldn't get caught by US border patrol.

Bush's proposal would allow millions of undocumented immigrants to live and work in the United States and foreigners to come to the US if they have a job offer. Workers could apply for a renewable three-year work permit, but they can only land jobs that have been shunned by US workers. Employers must demonstrate that they have tried to hire Americans for the opening.

The idea is that many legal workers in the US don't want these jobs in the first place, despite record-high unemployment figures. Illegal immigrants toil away in often inhumane conditions, working in fields or factories for less than the required minimum wage, with no benefits, no rights and virtually no hope of ever breaking out of the cycle of desperation.

"We see millions of hard-working men and women condemned to fear and insecurity in a massive, undocumented economy," Bush said at a White House speech announcing his proposal, which needs legislative approval to take effect.

"Workers who seek only to earn a living end up in the shadows of American life fearful, often abused and exploited. When they are victimized by crime, they are afraid to call the police or seek recourse in the legal system."

The US estimated that there are about 8 million illegal immigrants in the US, and more than half are believed to be from Mexico. They now have an ally from the conservative political spectrum, a president who only won slightly more than 30 per cent of the Latino vote in the 2000 elections despite campaigning for more relaxed immigration laws before the election.

The Latino vote is considered to be one of the "X" factors in the November presidential election and politicians from both sides have tried to court Hispanics.

Hispanic voters account for about 12 per cent of the U.S. electorate, many of them in the swing state of Florida. California also has a huge Latino population. While the Democrats won California in 2000, the state now has a Republican governor and could be up for grabs next time around.

Some people, even though they favour the programme, were quick to point out that the timing of the programme was not by coincidence. "This is consistent with the pledge the president has made for a couple of years now," Ian Vasquez, an analyst at the Washington- based Cato Institute said. "But I think certainly the timing may be inspired by upcoming elections."

Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy said he hoped "the administration's long-awaited re-involvement in this fundamental debate is genuine, and not because of election year conversion."

South of the border, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez welcomed the proposal, calling the move "very important" because it will grant immigrants certainty.

But Hispanic groups in the US were less enthusiastic. Raul Yzaguirre, who heads the country's largest Hispanic civil rights group, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), said Bush's proposal came so late in the legislative season it had little chance of passing Congress.

NCLR's policy vice president, Cecilia Munoz, called it a "political manoeuvre" and said she was "deeply disappointed", according to the official Mexican news agency Notimex.

If nothing else, it gave millions of immigrants a ray of hope in the darkness of illegality. The proposal, Bush's first major policy of the year, is sure to face tough opposition in the House and Senate, but it may provide a boost to change the way the US treats illegal immigrants.

The White House has already pointed out the programme would increase security at home by allowing law enforcement to focus on real threats such as terrorists rather than the scores of immigrants crossing the borders.

"America is acting on a basic belief: Our borders should be open to legal travel and honest trade," Bush said. In a post-September 11 world and the terror alert at high, anything that makes the US safer can only help a candidate.-dpa