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After a weekend of protest marches in the US where hundreds of thousands took the streets all over the country to protest against recent government legislations and proposals, the US Senate takes up the hot topic of immigration reform legislation. In the hot seat is US President George W. Bush, who faces another test of leadership. workpermit.com has summarized the complicated issues the president is facing in the coming weeks.

1. Bush's proposal of a temporary worker program passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, March 27, 12 votes in favour to 6, but the measure of the bill goes to the full Senate later this week. The president sees this as a way forward to fill jobs that Americans do not want to do. His view is backed by business in areas of low wages. However labour groups feel the program does not lead to permanent residency, and will only lead to an underclass society of workers.

2. The Senate Judiciary is pushing forward a bill that would tighten border security and require employers to verify the full status of their employees. This bill would also establish a temporary worker program, and give some 1.5 million undocumented illegal immigrants a chance to legalise their status in the US.

3. The House of Representatives passed a bill December last year that resulted in the furor of demonstrations across America March 25. The legislation has made undocumented migrants felons in the US. This bill also calls for a border fence to be erected along parts of the US-Mexico border. It also requires employers to check the status of their staff, and any aiding of illegal immigrants is also seen as a federal act of felony. There is no temporary residency program in this legislation.

4. Some conservative Republicans want to limit congressional action this year, and only want the issue of border security and enforcement addressed. One conservative, the Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, will bring his own legislation to the floor for a vote, if the Senate Judiciary Committee fails to produce broader legislation concerning US border enforcement.

5. The president will have to endure a wait before the final outcome of immigration reform is known this year. If this week the US Senate decides on a comprehensive reform, including a guest worker program, it will most undoubtedly face opposition from another conservative faction from House of Representatives. At least 70 members from the house are opposed to anything related to an amnesty. But now that the temporary worker program has passed the judiciary committee, heated debate is on the cards in forthcoming days as many call this measure an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

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