Yesterday Congressman Pence delivered a speech entitled "Renewing the American Dream: The Real Rational Middle Ground on Immigration Reform" at The Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C.
The Congressman's speech has drawn nationwide attention over the past 24 hours.
The following are links to major newspaper articles covering the speech as well as excerpts from each article:
"Hoping to narrow the gap between Senate and House Republicans on this issue, the leader of the House conservative caucus announced a bill that would allow the illegal immigrants to participate in a guest worker plan, but would not grant them permanent residency or citizenship.
"The measure, sponsored by Representative Mike Pence, Republican of Indiana, would require the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants to leave the country to apply for a slot in the program, which would be administered by private employment agencies licensed by the American government.
"House Republicans expressed lukewarm support for the bill, which was promptly attacked by conservative critics of guest worker programs. But the bill was praised by White House officials."
"Arguing that 'a rational middle ground can be found between amnesty and mass deportation,' Pence proposed having employers request foreign workers through private agencies.
"The agencies would find matches for the jobs and conduct health screening and background checks, with visas issued by the State Department in the workers' home countries."
"Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), a prominent House conservative, called for a bill largely similar to the House version, adding a guest-worker program. But Pence's plan would require all illegal immigrants in the United States to be deported, a move most senators reject."
"As he detailed his plan, however, Pence said, 'It is not logistically possible to round up 12 million illegal aliens, put them on buses and conduct a mass deportation.'
"It also is not realistic to think, he said, that some American businesses can operate without those workers. Under his proposal, illegal immigrants would be required to leave the country to get a guest worker visa.
"They would be processed through placement centers, or what he called 'Ellis Island centers,' run by private U.S. firms.Pence said the process could be completed within a week, causing minimal disruption to the immigrants and their employers.
"Applicants would have to go through background checks. Visas for the program would be renewable three times, for a total of six years, but only if applicants passed an English proficiency test after the first two years."
"Critics call that amnesty, and Republican leaders refused to allow it to be considered in the bill the House passed in December.
"Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who heads a group of 100 conservatives in the House, said Tuesday he plans to offer a bill this week that would let employers rehire illegal workers now on their payrolls after they have returned home and applied for a new 'W' visa to return.
"'The solution is to set up a system that will encourage illegal workers to self-deport and come back legally as guest workers,' said Pence, who earlier voted for the enforcement-only House bill."
"Some on Capitol Hill suggested Tuesday that a leading House conservative, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., had come up with a plan that could bridge the divide between the chambers. The Pence plan would require all illegal immigrants to leave the U.S. to apply for a six-year guest worker visa."
"Adding a new element to the debate Tuesday, Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, who heads the conservative Republican Study Committee, proposed a guest-worker program for many of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.
"Under Pence's plan, they would have to leave the United States, apply for the program and become temporary workers. They would not be eligible for citizenship."
"But whether the bill will ever become law is unclear, because many House Republicans remained relentlessly opposed to any citizenship track for those in the country illegally.
"'We're kind of getting nowhere in a hurry,' said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., of the potential for a compromise between the Senate's expansive approach to legalization and the House's enforcement crackdown.
"'There is still no support in my district or to a large extent in this country for amnesty ... however it's dressed up. We must man the door.'
"Yet Pence, in the same breath, floated a new proposal for a privately operated guest worker plan that many interpreted as a trial balloon to gauge the reaction of conservative Republicans."
"A privately run employment service that matches foreign workers with U.S. businesses would eliminate the incentive for job-seekers to be in the U.S. illegally or for businesses to hire undocumented workers, Rep. Mike Pence, R-6th, said Tuesday.
"Pence said the idea would bridge competing ideas for rewriting immigration law, which has become one of the most hotly contested issues on Capitol Hill. The sharpest disagreement is in the Republican Party, particularly over President Bush’s guest worker program, which critics call amnesty and fiercely oppose.
"At a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Pence said he would require all foreigners who are in the U.S. illegally to leave the country and then obtain a visa through a private employment service. He said current illegal immigrants would not get preferential treatment in system, so it can’t be considered an amnesty program."
"U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., is trying to build a bridge in the illegal immigration chasm between President Bush’s worker visas and near-amnesty proposal and the House bill that would force illegal immigrants to go home or face felony charges.
"In a speech on the House floor Tuesday, Pence called for a compromise that would allow some immigrants to be put on the track to citizenship, but only if they are here legally. Those who are here illegally would have to leave and apply for admittance under a guest worker program.
"The proposal would also create a new database that all employees would be entered into, so employers could check for citizenship or a legal immigrations status.Pence called illegal immigration a problem of epic proportions.
"'It is a problem that threatens the very fabric of America,' Pence said. 'Every time I am home in Indiana, I hear about this issue from my constituents." Hoosiers are concerned. Americans are concerned. I am concerned.'"
