By Jean O. Pasco
Times Staff Writer

A controversial guest-worker plan proposed by President Bush has driven the biggest wedge yet into the united front offered on most issues by the major Republican
candidates for the U.S. Senate.

The issue has animated a race with otherwise low visibility and scant conflict, despite GOP desires to unseat Democrat Barbara Boxer.

In his State of the Union speech, Bush proposed allowing illegal immigrants already in the country, and foreign workers abroad, to apply for a guest-worker program,
which would allow them to stay in the United States for up to three years with the possibility of at least one extension.

The plan has been broadly criticized by members of Congress from both major parties, either for going too far and encouraging illegal immigration, or not far enough and
penalizing hard-working immigrants.

Of the major Republican U.S. Senate candidates, two have tried to sidestep criticism that the plan would overwhelm public infrastructure and invite fraud. Former
Secretary of State Bill Jones and former Los Altos Hills Mayor Toni Casey applauded Bush for "opening a dialogue" on the problem of unchecked immigration, but
issued statements opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants — which Bush insists his plan is not.

Jones said he would withhold judgment until the details were drafted into legislation, while Casey released her own proposal that tinkered with Bush's.

Another candidate, former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin, who rests much of her campaign on support for Bush and his policies, backed his immigration proposal as "a
good first step."

Former Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian, meanwhile, built his campaign on opposing the Bush concept, calling it "morally wrong" and "amnesty on the installment plan."
Still, he has prefaced every swipe with praise for other Bush initiatives.

Therein lies the problem for Republicans hoping to find traction on the touchy issue of immigration reform: Bush defined the debate by proposing his guest-worker plan.
Attacking that plan now could be perceived by GOP primary voters as disloyal to the party's president; supporting his plan could be seen as blind loyalty to a flawed
idea.

Most Republicans would have opposed the guest-worker proposal if it came from President Clinton, said John J. Pitney Jr., a professor of government at Claremont
McKenna College and a former Republican Party official. Two factors muddied the waters, he said: It's Bush's plan, and he enjoys solid approval among GOP voters.
California's popular new governor also represents a daily reminder of an immigrant success story.

"I think the immigration issue is part of a larger dilemma for Republicans in the primary," Pitney said. "Some of the positions [candidates would] normally attack are
positions held by President Bush. They attack expansion of the welfare state, and yet Bush pushed for the [prescription] drug benefit for seniors. They oppose federal
intervention in education, yet we have [the] No Child Left Behind [legislation]. They oppose deficit spending, and there's no comment needed there…. What issues do
you pick?"

Stoking the issue of immigration during a presidential year could be tricky for the GOP, which has sought to reach out to Latinos under President Bush. Latinos comprise
12% of the U.S. population and about 32% of California residents, according to the 2000 Census. It is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the state.

The immigration issue galvanized California voters in 1994 with passage of Proposition 187, which was designed to deny state-paid benefits to those in the country
illegally. A court later voided most of the measure, but Republicans were left with the image of a party that didn't welcome Latinos. Thus burned, few Republican
candidates have confronted the issue since.

The issue of illegal immigration erupted last year in the campaign to recall Gov. Gray Davis. California voters warmed to the idea of bouncing the incumbent after Davis
signed a bill allowing driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, after twice vetoing similar measures with fewer restrictions.

Two-thirds of voters said in surveys that they opposed giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, even though that was state practice until 1993.

It's no surprise, then, that opposing driver's licenses for illegal immigrants is included in the ballot statements of Kaloogian, Marin and Casey. Casey, the former Los
Altos Hills mayor, goes further by proposing to deny federal transportation funds to any state that issues licenses to illegal immigrants. Former Secretary of State Jones'
statement doesn't mention driver's licenses, but calls for the federal government to assume the cost of illegal immigration.

Instead of three-year work permits, Casey proposes seasonal permits to allow immigrants into the country, with a requirement that they return to their home countries
when the work is completed. Workers could not bring their families and would be required to be paid minimum wage and have taxes withheld — an attempt to eliminate
the cash-driven underground economy. Workers filling baby-sitting, janitorial, gardening and restaurant jobs also would have to leave after a set time.

All four major candidates also have focused on broader immigration positions, urging tighter border security and reimbursement by the federal government for the cost of
services to illegal immigrants. That cost was estimated at $4.6 billion last year, including healthcare, law enforcement and education.

Several of the candidates have recently criticized Bush's $2.4-trillion federal budget, which contains no reimbursements for California's costs for incarcerating illegal
immigrants and continues deep deficits through 2009. The Republican hopefuls insisted they would have better luck than Boxer in persuading a GOP administration and
Congress to return more money to California.