[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 25 (Monday, June 26, 1995)]
[Page 1109]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Guestworker Legislation

June 23, 1995

    I oppose efforts in the Congress to institute a new guestworker or 
``bracero'' program that seeks to bring thousands of foreign workers 
into the United States to provide temporary farm labor.
    In its most recent report, the bipartisan Commission on Immigration 
Reform chaired by Barbara Jordan unanimously concluded that a large-
scale guestworker program would be a ``grievous mistake.'' We have 
worked hard to reduce illegal immigration and have made great progress 
toward controlling this longstanding and serious problem. To allow so-
called temporary workers to cross the border now would undermine all the 
success we have achieved.
    A new guestworker program is unwarranted for several reasons:
    <bullet> It would increase illegal immigration.
    <bullet> It would reduce work opportunities for U.S. citizens and 
other legal residents.
    <bullet> It would depress wages and work standards for American 
workers.
    When these programs were tried in the past, many temporary 
guestworkers stayed permanently--and illegally--in this country. 
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants now residing in the U.S. first came 
as temporary workers, and their presence became a magnet for other 
illegal immigrants.
    If our crackdown on illegal immigration contributes to labor 
shortages--especially for perishable crops that require large numbers of 
workers for short periods of time--I will direct the Departments of 
Labor and Agriculture to work cooperatively to improve and enhance 
existing programs to meet the labor requirements of our vital 
agricultural industry consistent with our obligations to American 
workers.