But even before they could digest Ridge’s statement, US President George W. Bush said he was "firmly against blanket amnesty."
At a town hall meeting in Miami last month, Ridge said the US has to "come to grips with the presence of 8 million to 12 million illegals, afford them some kind of legal status some way, but also as a country decide what our immigration policy is and then enforce it."
"I think there’s a growing consensus that, sooner rather than later, we need to deal with the reality that these men, women and families are here, many contributing — most contributing — to their community, paying taxes, paying into social security," Ridge said. "We have to legalize their status."
His comments raised hopes that the US might again offer amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants as it did in 1986 when it legalized the status of about 2.7 million undocumented immigrants.
Supporters of the mass amnesty program in 1986 had said it would solve the problem of illegal immigrants. Instead illegal immigration soared as relatives of those who received amnesty poured into the country and overstayed their visas.
With elections looming in November, politicians are reluctant to embrace a proposal that appears to have little public support.
"This is an amnesty program masquerading as immigration reform," said Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, chairman of the Congressional Reform Caucus, warning the passage of a liberalized immigration proposal could hurt Bush’s re-election chances.
At a press conference just before Christmas, Bush said "we need to have an immigration policy that helps match any willing employer with any willing employee."
"It makes sense that that policy go forward, and we’re in the process of working that through now so I can make a recommendation to Congress," Bush said.
But he said he remains "firmly against blanket amnesty" for undocumented immigrants.
There are a number of immigration proposals pending in the Senate, but the one with the best shot of passage is the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act and the DREAM Act, the so-called AgJOBS Act, which would enable 500,000 farm workers, mainly Mexicans and their families already working in the US to apply for legal resident status.
The bill’s text says its aim is "to provide a stable, legal agricultural workforce, to extend basic legal protections and better working conditions to more workers."