By Ali Noorani

Last week, President Bush, in a clear acknowledgement of the power and value of immigrants and refugees to the country, unveiled principles for immigration reform. By proposing such a program, the president realizes our immigration system needs repair, but he is unwilling to be a leader for reform.

The greatest oversight, and perhaps the most crucial element of a fair immigration policy, is a path to lawful permanent resident status. President Bush's plan would like to see temporary workers here for three years, working on jobs that employers can't find anyone else to fill. After three years of hard, dangerous labor, the President is not willing to guarantee their ability to begin the path to citizenship.

For certain immigrants entering the process today, it takes an average of 10-15 years to become a citizen. However, during that time, a person in the naturalization process has access to certain jobs, is protected by the law and invests in their community because it is their home. For an undocumented immigrant who suffered incredible hardship to come here and work in unsafe jobs, they currently pay taxes via a tax identification number but do not feel protected by the law.

If the Bush proposal were to pass, undocumented immigrants would continue to work in the most dangerous of jobs, continue to pay taxes, but could very well be forced to leave the country after 3 years. There would be no opportunity to enter the path to citizenship.

The Bush proposal does not provide an option to permanent residency - instead it proposes a guest worker program. It merely allows big businesses like Wal-Mart to own low wage indentured servants, therefore driving down wages across the board. The program would create a permanent underclass of workers who see no incentive to create a better community since they will be forced to leave the country.

The Bush proposal fails to fix our broken immigration system. It is insincere to claim that the Administration is offering a solution to our broken immigration system unless it also updates our immigration laws to accommodate the millions of workers who have been working in the U.S., contributing to our economy, and desire to become fully and legally integrated into our society.

The proposal creates an unwieldy bureaucracy that leaves workers at the mercy of employers. Workers enrolled in the program will need to be constantly monitored via information submitted by their employer. This arrangement leaves immigrants open to abuse by employers and an inability to move between jobs.

The impact of this program could change the face of our country.

For example, the Irish immigrant who works in construction may never become an Irish-American. The Haitian immigrant who takes care of our elderly may never become a Haitian-American. The Brazilian who paints our homes may never become a Brazilian-American.

Imagine our cities and towns without a vibrant immigrant community to own homes, create business districts or advocate for better schools. It would be a Massachusetts that fewer people would want to live in.

As Americans we value our communities, befriend our neighbors and create local economies. The Bush plan makes no effort to allow immigrants to become American citizens and to continue to strengthen our country. President Bush's plan only recognizes the short-term benefit to business of immigrants as cheap labor. His plan does not recognize the long-term value of Americans from across the world.

If the Administration is serious about immediate reform to the immigration system, there are two opportunities at hand. One is the AgJOBS Bill. This proposed legislation has extraordinary by-partisan support and provides among other provisions for the legalization of the undocumented agricultural workforce. The bill will also streamline the existing foreign agricultural worker program so that agricultural employers have legal means to employ future workers. The Bush proposal does not guarantee such an option.

Second, the DREAM Act, would allow undocumented youth who excel academically, the very core of our information based economy, to access higher education at in-state tuition rates and embark on their own path to legal residency. These children were taught to speak English and have come to identify with American values. Furthermore, many of them have lived the American Dream of successfully graduating with top honors, earning admission to prestigious universities, while others are recognized for their community involvement and leadership

President Bush has realized our economy needs all workers in order to grow. Therefore, he should protect all residents, and allow all residents the opportunity to legalize their immigration status.

Ali Noorani is the executive director of the Massachusetts Immigration Reform Association, MIRA.