“The debate over immigration ‘reform’ in the United States has included a lot of talk about expanding temporary worker or ‘guest worker’ programs. These programs allow people to come here for temporary or seasonal jobs, and require them to go home when the job is done.

Temporary worker programs do nothing to resolve the status of millions of immigrants who have already established their lives here and want to stay. Such programs also create a sub-class of workers who are effectively unable to defend their rights. Some critics compare these programs to a modern form of slavery, because workers are generally not allowed to change jobs, and have no real way to fight back when they are cheated out of promised wages and faced with substandard living and working conditions.”