Not the time to revisit guest-worker program

Note: This letter was published in the San Diego Union-Tribune on November 20, 2001.

Resuming talks with Mexico regarding a guest-worker program is a bad idea. Between the Sept. 11 disaster and the recession, the timing is awful. It would also be virtually impossible for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to be able to properly handle the paperwork of such a program and undergo the changes that the administration is proposing. Without a thorough background check of every individual, this program would be a security nightmare.

Finally, another amnesty would send the wrong message to a world filled with people who want to come here: If you can get over the border, you're home free. Can you imagine how someone who has been patiently waiting to come in legally would feel if lawbreakers get preferred treatment?

BYRON SLATER
San Diego