UNITED STATES - New bill will cause increase in immigration

WASHINGTON (AP):

Landmark immigration legislation passed by the Senate would remake America's workforce, from the highest rungs to the lowest, and bring many more immigrants into the economy, from elite technology companies to restaurant kitchens and rural fields.

In place of the unauthorised workers now commonly found labouring in lower-skilled jobs in the agriculture or service industries, many of these workers would be legal, some of them permanent-resident green card holders, or even citizens.

Illegal immigration across the border with Mexico would slow, but legal immigration would increase markedly.

That's the portrait that emerges from recent analyses of the far-reaching bill passed last month by the Senate with the backing of the White House. Although the bill aims to secure the borders, track people overstaying their visas, and deny employers the ability to hire workers in the United States illegally, it by no means seeks to choke off immigration.