A noted anti-immigration group has criticized an effort led by Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, to implement an immigrant "guest worker" program that would, in effect, grant amnesty for nearly 7 million immigrants from Mexico currently in the U.S. illegally.

According to Voice Of Citizens Together, a Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based group opposed to what it views as liberal U.S. immigration laws, the initiative undertaken by Gramm and four others -- Sens. Zell Miller, D-Ga.; Pete Domenici, R-N.M.; Jim Bunning, R-Ky.; and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho -- will do little except increase sympathies in the U.S. for policies favorable to Mexico.

Also, Glen Spencer -- head of Voices Of Citizens Together -- said the initiative supported by the "Gramnesty Five" was tantamount to "treason."

"The legalization of Mexicans would ultimately create more than 10 million new voters -- voters whose allegiance would be to Mexico, not the United States of America," he said in a statement released Jan. 11. "If we fail to deport illegal Mexicans and instead grant them permanent residency, Mexico City will have more power over parts of our country than Washington, D.C., and we will lose our sovereignty."

Gramm and his Senate colleagues met Jan. 10 in Mexico City with President Vincente Fox to discuss the proposed worker amnesty program. According to the Associated Press, the "program for Mexicans … would have the effect of granting amnesty to those currently working illegally in the country -- up to 7 million people -- while allowing others to apply for work from Mexico in the future."

But Spencer indicated that the proposal undermines current U.S. policy of attempting to thwart illegal immigration. And he pointed out that Gramm specifically addressed curbing illegal immigration as a benefit of the 1993 passage of the North American Free Trade Act.

"Gramm's NAFTA succeeded in bringing millions of Mexicans to the U.S. border, creating an environmental, social and national security nightmare," Spencer said. "Gramm was wrong about NAFTA, and he is wrong about legalization. He is compounding his 1993 NAFTA error with total capitulation in 2001."

Spencer and other anti-immigration advocates point to what they believe amounts to historical evidence that Mexico and pro-immigration activists in the U.S. are working to reintegrate much of the southwestern United States with Mexico.

"Mexico has never accepted" the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago, which ended the Mexican-American War, Spencer said, "and, aided by the Ford Foundation, the Catholic Church, dual citizenship, the AFL/CIO, and now Phil Gramm, they have come a long way toward declaring victory over the United States.

"The people of the United States of America need to know that some politicians are acting against the interests of their nation in favor of Mexican hegemony," he said. "Those who aid Mexico's invasion are committing treason."

Gramm and other congressional members who support the proposal have also backed accompanying legislation on Capitol Hill that would make it easier for Mexican immigrants to gain citizenship status, work in the U.S. and permanently join family members currently living in the states.

During the 106th Congress, Gramm and others voiced support for the Legal Immigration Family Equity, or LIFE, Act, which would "take a much needed step towards bringing fairness to our Nation's immigration policy by reuniting families and helping those who have played by the rules," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told reporters during an Oct. 25, 2000, press conference in Washington, D.C.

"Our proposal does not pit one nationality against another, nor does it pit one race against another. Our legislation provides relief to immigrants from all countries," Hatch said.

In voicing his support for the bill, Gramm added that "there is still room among us for new genius and new energy and new creativity."

"I believe America has room for people willing to come here and work, and I strongly support the reunification of families caught in the immigration bureaucracy. It is important for every person in America, whether a citizen or not, to have due process and equal justice under the law," he said, according to statements published on his website.

"Briefly, the LIFE Act would restore due process by providing relief to those immigrants wrongly denied adjustment of status because of INS administrative errors," Gramm said. "The Act proposes that the 'late amnesty class' of 1982 may pursue their legalization claims under the original terms of the 1986 Act. The Act will provide relief to about 400,000 immigrants in the 1982 class who played by the rules, but who were wrongly denied adjustment of status.

"Eligible applicants would be permitted to reunite with their families, live with them in America and work legally while awaiting a decision on the merits of their petitions," Gramm said.

The bill was defeated last congressional session, but Gramm and others say they "look forward" to introducing and passing a similar version in the 107th Congress.

But other immigration policy critics, such as ProjectUSA, a New York-based advocacy group stumping for "sensible" immigration laws, point to studies claiming that most Americans -- especially those whose local economies have been impacted by cheaper, foreign labor -- are against more liberal immigration policies.

According to the group, a survey began in November involving residents from Marshalltown, Iowa -- a mid-sized town suffering under a deluge of cheap, foreign, illegal labor. Seventy percent of respondents thus far said they believe Gov. Tom Vilsack's recent suggestion that, to take advantage of cheap labor, Iowa should put itself above America's immigration laws and become another "Ellis Island" was "reckless and shortsighted." Only 9 percent approved of Vilsack's idea.

"At ProjectUSA, we intend to make 2001 the most effective year yet for the immigration reform movement," the group said in a statement issued yesterday.

The organization pointed out that "the recent Census Bureau release that shows our country grew by an incredible 13 percent in just the last decade prompted a slew of news articles that connected that astounding growth to U.S. immigration policy."

"I recognize that there is a serious need to reform the Immigration and Naturalization Service in both its mission and its structure," Hatch said.

"Unlike other measures, our plan does not provide relief to those who have violated our laws at the expense of those who have played by the rules," he said. "Instead, it restores due process to a class of immigrants wrongly denied the ability to apply for residency nearly 15 years ago and expeditiously reunifies husbands, wives and children of resident aliens."