Ronald Reagan tried it. George W. Bush tried it twice. Now President Barack Obama likely will take his best shot at immigration reform and how it affects the labor market. Here’s the difference in what Obama is doing: His proposals are backed by organized labor and are tied to the job market.
Union leaders say they’ll back the idea of giving millions of illegal immigrants a chance to become citizens, but only if Obama appoints an independent commission to decide how many foreign workers to allow into the country: When the economy goes up, so would the number of immigrants; when the economy drops, the immigration numbers would drop.
Under the system, union leaders say, the jobs of American workers would be protected during tough times.
Business groups generally oppose the idea because it doesn’t include a temporary-worker program needed to fill jobs quickly when the economy rises rapidly.
The Senate will hold hearings on the proposal, but two border-state Republicans — John McCain and Jon Kyl, both of AZ — say they’ll oppose the proposal if there’s no temp-worker proposal combined with better border security.
Look for the legislation to be introduced in the fall.
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