Cannon hails 'guest' plan

WASHINGTON — As President Bush proposed a "guest worker" program Wednesday that includes allowing illegal aliens to achieve renewable, temporary legal status, one of those at the White House applauding the loudest — literally — was Rep. Chris Cannon.

Back in Utah, many Utah Hispanic leaders also hailed the proposal, though others found plenty to criticize about a plan they said would have a negative impact on the country's economy.

Cannon, R-Utah — a Spanish speaker who has long advocated immigration reform to help attract Hispanic voters to the GOP — was at the White House at Bush's invitation to watch him promote many of the same ideas that the Utah congressman has long pushed in bills. The president's proposal was music to Cannon's ears and not just because Bush welcomed him by name publicly.

"We've been talking to the White House for years about this, and I could not be more pleased about what the president says," Cannon said. "Now is the time to finally pass immigration reform."

In Utah the reaction was generally positive but mixed nevertheless.

"The issue is not whether you're for or against immigration," said Salt Lake City lawyer Mike Martinez, "but whether we can afford this type of immigration. This is the central question of this decade for America: Can we afford to assimilate all these undocumented workers — give them affordable housing, health care, educate their children — in return for their work." He called the Bush proposal "re-election fodder."

On the other hand, Tony Yapias, director of the Utah Office of Hispanic Affairs, applauded the guest-worker idea. "This is a day of hope. Now many good Latinos out there can see that American dream to live and work without fear, without having to worry that Immigration is going to deport them." There are nearly 30,000 undocumented workers in Utah, mainly in jobs that most Americans don't fill, Yapias said.

Ogden City deputy mayor Joe Reyna, one of only 40 Hispanic leaders invited to attend the Washington announcement, was encouraged by not only the proposal but the rest of the audience. "The fact that top members of the Cabinet were there sends a big message to Mexico that this is serious," he said in a phone interview.

Not an amnesty?

As he helped lead the choir praising Bush, Cannon repeatedly stressed an interpretation he believes the public must also accept for the proposal to pass in Congress: "It's not amnesty. It is not an amnesty program for illegal aliens. Any thoughtful person who reads that proposal will realize it's not an amnesty program," he said.