Law Commons^™

Guest Worker Programs Are No Fix For Our Broken Immigration System: Evidence From The Northern Mariana Islands, Dorothy E. Hill Professor

Dorothy E. Hill Professor

The creation of a large-scale unskilled guest worker program has been a prominent element of comprehensive immigration reform proposals in recent years. This year it was featured as one of the “four pillars” of a reform framework endorsed by the Obama Administration. The principal ills that are cited as justifying immigration reform include the deterioration of border security, the violence associated with human smuggling, and the widespread mistreatment of unauthorized immigrants. Many believe that a large-scale guest worker program will help to resolve these problems by providing a lawful channel to divert the flow of unauthorized workers. This article argues …