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Sen. Martinez Favors Guest Worker Program
As an immigrant who came to the U.S. from Cuba as a boy, Florida Sen. Mel Martinez has a special perspective on the illegal immigration debate. And he parts ways with many of his fellow Republicans by favoring a guest-worker program. "There are those in the country who feel the country is ‘full,’” said Martinez, who came to the United States in the 1960s. "Had that been the prevailing view in the 1960s, I would not be here.” Martinez has teamed up with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., to push for stricter border enforcement coupled with a guest-worker program that reaches out to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S., the Miami Herald reports.
He insists the immigration plan he backs, giving undocumented immigrants a chance at residency, does not constitute amnesty, as many critics suggest. The plan would require immigrants to pay fines and learn English before becoming citizens.
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Martinez also cites figures from Florida hotels, restaurants and the tourism industry suggesting that the state desperately needs workers. He says that "Sensenbrenner” is now a household word in many Hispanic homes. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., is the House sponsor of a bill that would erect a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border and make criminals out of undocumented aliens. "We as Republicans need to be careful how we address this issue,” said Martinez, the only foreign-born member of the Senate.
"The issue has galvanized the Hispanic and Latino community like no other. There’s a real political angle to this that is important to our party.”
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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