President George W. Bush asked Congress Wednesday to approve a major overhaul of immigration policy. He wants to give immigrants a chance to work in America legally if they have bona fide job offers.

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IMMIGRATION POLICY Who Benefits From Proposed Plan? Fact Sheet: Fair And Secure Immigration Reform

Speaking in the White House East Room Wednesday afternoon, Bush said current immigration laws don't work. He said workers entering the country illegally end up being abused and exploited, which is "not the American way."

The temporary worker program includes a three-year, renewable guest visa, thereby offering millions of undocumented workers the chance stay in America legally. The visas would also extend to those in foreign countries who have been offered employment in the United States.

But the plan calls for employers to make every reasonable effort to find an American to fill a job before extending job offers to foreign workers.

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Bush Outlines Immigration Reforms

The workers under temporary status must pay a one-time fee to register in the program, abide by the rules, and return home after their period of work expires, according to the White House.

Bush said giving these workers special preference toward citizenship would unfairly reward law-breaking.

"Those willing to take the difficult path to citizenship ... should be welcomed in America by generations of immigrants before them," Bush said.

Bush said the plan will make the country safer by giving officials a better idea of who is crossing the border. He said it will also bolster the economy by fulfilling employers' needs and protecting the rights of illegal workers.

Press secretary Scott McClellan said the current system is clearly "not working," while Bush's plan will both fill low-wage jobs and treat immigrant workers with compassion.

But Bush's spokesman rejected the word "amnesty" in describing the president's new immigration plan.

"I think the president has made it very clear that he is opposed to any blanket amnesty," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.

McClellan said Bush is talking about "meeting an economic need." He said it's about "matching willing workers with willing employers."

He said the immigration discussion originally began in February 2001 when Bush visited Mexican President Vicente Fox. The proposal comes a few days before Bush heads to Mexico for the Summit of Americas.

Bush has been largely silent on the immigration issue since the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Reaction to the plan is divided. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., said Bush's new proposal is good for America. She said it will improve homeland security by giving authorities a better picture of who's in the country.

"We need to know who's here and target our resources on people who are here to do us harm," she said.

But some Hispanic groups are skeptical, noting the workers would need to go through existing channels to become permanent residents or citizens. A spokeswoman for the League of United Latin American Citizens called Bush's plan a "temporary Band-Aid," not major reform.

Gerron Levi of the AFL-CIO's legislative department said she's "very concerned" about building an immigration reform around a new, large-scale guest worker program with no protections or numerical limitations.

She said it wouldn't put immigrant workers on any realistic path toward citizenship. And she said the proposal smacks of "political posturing in an election year."

Critics say what's changed is not so much improved border security as it is the need for Hispanic votes this fall, while conservatives are vowing to fight a program they say rewards law-breakers.

Meanwhile, immigrant workers have a lot of questions about the proposed changes.

Juan Muniz crosses the border from Mexico every day to work in an El Paso, Texas, department store. He has a green card. But his hours have been cut, and he worries the plan to make it easier for foreign nationals to work in the United States will mean more competition for jobs.

El Paso Mayor Joe Wardy said he's in favor of any effort to address the Southwest border's shadow economy, which is fueled by undocumented immigrant labor.