The "albatross" of immigration reform: temporary worker policy in the United States.

The author examines the history of U.S. labor and immigration policies, paying particular attention to the evolution of the temporary worker policy. Complications in the immigration reform process caused by efforts to admit more temporary workers are discussed. The position of the Reagan administration, Senate and House consideration of immigration and temporary worker bills, and the political controversies surrounding this issue are reviewed. The author points out that it was not until the major temporary worker proposals were finally removed from the Simpson-Rodino Act that passage of legislation was achieved, and he anticipates that efforts will eventually be made to revive temporary worker policy and thereby rekindle the debate