What Does Temporary Worker Mean?

The other big set of speeches the President has given this week were on the topic of immigration. Every time these speeches are given, the last thing that ever gets discussed are the already-on-the-books (but woefully unenforced) penalties to employers for hiring undocumented workers. If there's no supply, there will be no demand. Of course, that would hurt agribusiness and companies like Wal-Mart, who locks illegal cleaning crews in the store overnight. So enforcement is never stressed.

What has been stressed is border enforcement (fine, exactly, who's not for that?) and this "temporary worker" program (which used to be "guest worker," but I guess that sounded too nice for the conservatives who weren't on board with the plan), which is long on hopefulness but short on substance. We know that the plan calls for illegal workers to get a temporary work permit to attain employment for up to 6 years, then return to their countries (for up to a year, and then the whole process can start over again). What we never hear is what this will mean to their paychecks. Will they be paid the federal minimum wage (they certainly aren't now, that's why they get hired)? Will the need to be paid on the books? Will they pay into Social Security, and reap the benefits? Will they be covered with disability? Will they be able to unionize?

I think these things are deliberately murky so that the focus is on these temporary worker cards, and everyone can go back to business as usual. Making the 10 million illegal workers legal would be a boon to the federal treasury, but really eliminate the need for these workers from a business standpoint. I don't buy the bunch of bull that immigrants do the work that American workers won't do. There's nothing a hungry, unemployed American wouldn't do to feed his family. Businesses hire illegal workers because they're cheap, not because of a labor shortage. If this temporary worker program comes into place, and it's above board, there would be no compelling interest for business to hire any temporary workers. It seems to me that the plan is to put the temporary worker fig leaf over the whole thing, and then continue the cycle of exploitation and poor enforcement.

Let's not even get into the realities of how you'd get workers that have been here 6 years to leave.