President Bush's proposal for a guest worker immigration program has prompted a surge in illegal border crossings. According to an analysis by Judicial Watch, a public interest group that fights government corruption, approximately 63% of illegal immigrants said they had been informed by the Mexican government, or the media that President Bush was offering amnesty.  Judicial Watch obtained a copy of a 2004 survey by the U.S. Border Patrol under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Judicial Watch said that on January 7, 2004, the same day that President Bush announced the "temporary worker program, the Border Patrol started the survey of detained illegal immigrants to determine if the President's proposal was influencing their decision to cross the border. Three weeks later the Bush Administration dropped the survey, which was originally scheduled to last six months, because it was uncovering "politically inconvenient and/or potentially embarrassing data," Judicial Watch said.

The Department of Homeland Security said the survey was inconclusive and taken out of context, according to The Washington Post.

Congressman Tom Tancredo (CO), however, wants an investigation of whether the administration tried to suppress the survey. "It's amnesty when you tell people they will not be punished for violation of the law," Tancredo said. "If you reward people for breaking the law, more people will break the law." Tancredo has further suggested that the President's proposal has "already done great damage because millions of people are already here seeking amnesty."

TSCL agrees that the temporary worker proposal would reward illegal immigrants for breaking the law, and is fighting the temporary worker proposal as well as a U.S./Mexico Social Security Totalization Agreement. Under the totalization agreement, potentially millions of Mexican immigrants, including some who may have worked in this country illegally, would gain access to Social Security numbers. Under a loophole in current law, immigrants can receive Social Security benefits based on work while illegal if they later obtain a valid Social Security number.

Sources: "Bush 'Temporary Worker Proposal' Caused Increase in Illegal Immigrant Crossings," Judicial Watch, June 28, 2005. "Bush Proposal Prompted Surge in Illegal Immigrants," William Branigan, The Washington Post, June 28, 2005. "Lawmaker Wants Probe on Immigrant Survey," The Associated Press, June 29, 2005. "Tancredo Bashes Bush on Migrant Amnesty," Patrick O'Connor, The Hill, June 29, 2005.

October 2005