美國參議院減少移民提案所允許外國客工人數 (US Senate Curtails Foreign Workers Allowed Under Immigration Bill)

美國國會參議院對一項客工計劃作出重大修改，客工計劃是這項有爭議新移民改革議案中的關鍵條款。參議員星期三通過一項修正案，將每年允許進入美國的外國勞工人數控制在20萬人以內。原先的客工計劃提議允許40萬外國勞工進入美國，而且可以選擇在需求巨大的情況下，將人數增至60萬。

白宮表示，客工計劃是全面移民改革議案的重要組成部份。但是，提出修正案的民主黨籍參議員杰夫.賓加曼說，最初提案中的客工人數太大，也沒有經過驗證，可能會壓低美國工人的工資。

The U.S. Senate has drastically revised a guest worker program that is a key provision of a controversial new immigration reform bill. Lawmakers approved an amendment Wednesday to cap the number of foreign laborers allowed to enter the United States to only 200-thousand a year. The original guest worker proposal would have allowed 400-thousand foreign laborers into the country, with an option to increase it to 600-thousand if there is a high demand for them.

The White House says the guest worker program is a crucial component of the overall reform bill. But Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman, who sponsored the amendment, says the original proposal was too large and untested, and could depress wages for U.S. workers.