President Bush has revealed to Congress his new immigration proposal, which would allow illegal immigrants now in the United States to stay for an initial three-year period if they could prove they had jobs. Under Bush's proposal, immigrants with three-year work status could leave the country and return as needed, but they would have to return home unless they received permanent status. The AFL-CIO labor federation worried that Bush's proposal would lead to a decline in job quality and security for all workers.
See "Bush Asks Congress for New Immigration Rules", The New York Times, January 7, 2004