Washington

Bush pushes guest-worker program for immigrants

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Monday renewed his call for a guest-worker program for immigrants seeking employment in the United States, saying the Border Patrol shouldn't be chasing "good-hearted people who are coming here to work." At a year-end news conference, the president also refused to say whether his strategy for overhauling Social Security would entail cutting benefits, raising the retirement age or limiting benefits for wealthier workers. "Don't bother to ask me," Bush said, adding that he would not tip his hand until he starts negotiating with Congress next year. On immigration, Bush has wanted a guest-worker program since taking office four years ago. But the idea was sidetracked by the Sept. 11 attacks and then left on the sidelines because the White House did not want to tackle such a controversial issue during an election year. Bush faces a tough fight in Congress. He will have to persuade Republicans that his program does not amount to amnesty for the estimated 8 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in this country, and negotiate with Democrats who want any plan to provide workers a path to legal status. "I fully understand the politics of immigration reform," Bush said at a news conference. "I mean, I was governor of Texas. Right there on the front lines of border politics." Bush said creating a program allowing foreigners who want to work to legally enter the country would take some of the pressure off Border Patrol agents, whose jobs have taken on greater importance since the terrorist attacks. "We want our Border Patrol agents chasing crooks and thieves and drug runners and terrorists, not good-hearted people who are coming here to work," he said. He also said the program will recognize the reality that foreigners are "doing jobs Americans won't do; take the pressure off of employers so they're not having to rely upon false IDs; cut out the coyotes who are the smugglers of these people." Bush stressed that he does not favor automatic citizenship for immigrant workers. "If somebody who is here working wants to be a citizen, they can get in line," he said. For 53 minutes, Bush fielded questions on international and domestic affairs. It was his 17th formal news conference, held one day before he flies to the presidential retreat at Camp David for a vacation that will stretch into early next year and include a stay at his Texas ranch. On the issue of Social Security, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., disputed Bush's assertion that Social Security is in crisis. She said the Congressional Budget Office has concluded that Social Security is secure for nearly 50 years without any changes. She challenged Bush to give Congress "a clear and honest accounting of the difficult trade-offs among benefit cuts, tax increases and a massive escalation of record deficits."