President Bush unveiled a plan earlier this month that will allow illegal immigrants to stay in America legally and work for up to six years.

Changes to the immigration laws are certainly a step in the right direction; however, we wish the government would give more protections to the immigrants.

The plan requires illegal immigrants seeking the status of a temporary worker to register with the government so they can be traced. Instead of having millions of unregistered and untrackable illegal immigrants in the U.S., there will be millions of registered, legal workers. In a time when many Americans worry about homeland security, this new plan will certainly make it easier for the government to keep track of millions of people in the U.S. who were previously impossible to follow.

President Bush said it best when he proposed this plan-America’s growing economy is creating some jobs that current citizens are not filling. We should look no further than this pool of current illegal immigrants who have more incentive than many to secure a job.

Many of these immigrants came to this country to support their families already living in poor conditions elsewhere. They will not take the jobs they receive lightly or for granted; they are exactly the kind of workers we should want here.

This plan, however generous or compassionate, does not provide enough protection for or incentives to the immigrants.

Although President Bush said he opposes amnesty and does not want to put these immigrants on an automatic path to citizenship, we feel the immigrants should at least be put on some sort of fast track in which they could receive a green card-an incentive for securing and maintaining a job here that could otherwise go unfilled.

The plan also states that if a worker fails to maintain employment, he will be deported. People in the U.S. lose their jobs every day, many times by no fault of their own. These immigrants should not be immediately deported if they cannot keep one job, as long as they keep steady work.

President Bush is taking the right steps to begin addressing this problem that has for years gone unaddressed; however, if these immigrants are going to be offered a hand of compassion, they should also be given the proper protection and positive incentive to succeed.