While the Bush administration and the Justice Department have carried out a war against Muslim, Arab and other immigrant communities, they hypocritically tried to pose as the "friend of undocumented immigrants" on January 7, 2004, when Bush proposed a "sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws."

 

While Bush is attempting to win votes, especially in the Latino community, the administration's new immigration plan was denounced by labor activists, immigrants and their advocates as "anti-immigrant" and "pro-boss."

 

The plan does nothing to alleviate the dire sweatshop conditions that immigrants face in this country. A key feature of this proposal is a temporary worker program that allows workers to come to the United States legally for a specific time and to work in a specific industry that may need low-wage labor. In short, this means workers have the right to be exploited for a particular period of time by particular bosses.

 

While they must pay taxes like all workers, they will have no citizenship rights or other legal protections. After serving their labor term, they can easily be kicked out of the United States. The immigration plan is designed to meet the needs of Corporate America and other employers and has nothing to do with the rights of immigrant workers.

 

The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition believes that there are no borders in the struggle for workers' rights and justice. A top priority of the anti-war movement must be to stand in solidarity with exploited and demonized workers as they struggle against repression and exploitation.