New York Times (02/22/13) Ashley Parker

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO released a statement Thursday calling for the creation of a government entity that would use “real-world data about labor markets and demographics” to develop a guest worker program. The statement also outlined “a new kind of worker visa program that does not keep all workers in a permanent temporary status”— language that seems to suggest the possibility of legalization or even citizenship for some guest workers.

The statement also outlined three goals: U.S. workers would have the first opportunity to obtain available jobs; a new visa program for lower-skilled people would be created and adjusted as business needs change; and there would be greater transparency in figuring out the market need for temporary employees.