But how does it play in Parral?

(From an article in the Mexico City Herald):

MONTERREY – Many in Mexico expressed disappointment Friday with the U.S. Congress´ immigration reform proposal, arguing it doesn´t let enough Mexicans enter the United States legally to work, while focusing on an arduous path to residency for those who have already taken the illegal path.Mexican news media and activists attacked what they viewed as a measure to limit the number of seasonal workers allowed into the United States – even as the compromise´s proponents said it would let in many more.

Migrants as well as U.S. employers who need workers for low-skilled jobs had hoped the U.S. Congress would streamline and vastly expand the existing guest worker program, allowing more to cross legally, work a few months, then return home with their savings to build homes and businesses.

The new proposal did include a new guest worker program, but it appeared to limit the number of times workers could renew the temporary visas.

At the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, which hands out more temporary work visas than anywhere else in the world, Edmundo Bermúdez, a 36-year-old from the northern city of Durango, was especially offended by reports that preference would be given to migrants with degrees and specialized skills.

“The United States already has enough people with college degrees. Who is going to cut their tobacco?” asked Bermúdez, who has been working intermittently in the U.S. for eight years.

In Mexico, he makes about US$10 a day, while in the United States he earns US$8 an hour.

The proposal, unveiled Thursday in Washington, focuses on securing the border and giving illegal residents a long, and many argue expensive path to legal residency. Undocumented immigrants could seek lawful permanent residence once they pay US$5,000 in fees and fines and the head of household returns to their home country.

The bill seems worse that that… also dividing families, and making it prohibitively expense to become a legal resident.