From the UPI, 9/4/01:
But in an interview with UPI, Jim Gilmore, Republican National Committee chairman and Virginia governor, said the White House was considering a guest-worker program that would lead to permanent legal status for some of those workers."It would be much better to have a process, built up over time, so that people who are in this country illegally can get legal, so they can find a way to get papers so that they fit into an appropriate system. That way we know where they are. We know what they are doing," Gilmore said. "And then it is possible over time that there would be a process by which people would become legal under immigration law, either current or reformed."
[...]
Gilmore said revisiting immigration policy might help the GOP change its reputation among Hispanics and other minority groups.
"What I think has happened in the past is that concern over immigration issues has manifested itself in a message of unwelcomeness," Gilmore said. "Legal Hispanics who are registered to vote and want to express themselves have expressed in the past a dislike for that kind of thing. I think the president is trying to make it clear that the Republican Party does not feel that way."
He also dismissed any portrayal of the effort as a "callous" attempt to court the Hispanic vote. "I do not intend to suggest to you, nor do I think the president is suggesting, that this is a callous compromise of good policy just to get the Hispanic vote," Gilmore said. "What I do believe we intend to do is address an issue that is of concern to Hispanic people in this country."
My, how times have changed...
As for the substance - well, from what I can tell, I might even agree with it. I'm not a fan of guest worker programs that don't provide for a path to citizenship. We already have a permanent underclass. Don't need another one, thanks.