Confusion surrounds Reagan-Clements alien work visa plan Associated Press Discounting confusion about just which ver- sion', of a plan Ronald Reagan advocates for dealing with illegal aliens, a Texas Hispanic leader says Reagan's proposal could encourage even more Mexican aliens to cross the border. • Reagan, during a campaign swing through South Texas recently, told primarily Mexican- American audiences in San Antonio and Har- lingen that he advocates Gov. William P. Cle- ments' plan for issuing visas to illegal aliens. However, Clements' plan and Reagan's com- ments in Texas differ on a key facet — the length of time that an illegal alien would be allowed to remain in the United States on a work visa. Reagan told a Texas audience: "You docu- ment the undocumented workers and let them come in here with a visa — to come here and be a part of it for whatever length of time they want to stay." In his remarks, Reagan failed to mention that Clements' plan is for renewable, not per- manent, work visas. Clements wants to issue permits for three months to a year, after which workers would have to return to Mexi- co to renew their visas. The omission caused a minor flap and some confusion, and Clements, who talked to Rea- gan when he arrived in Texas, later said he didn't believe Reagan meant to say the aliens could stay in the United States without re- newed visas. Jon Ford, a press aide to Clements, says Cle- ments does not feel there is any conflict be- tween Reagan and him on the issue. Ford noted that before Reagan made his South Texas swing, the GOP standard-bearer and Clements discussed the proposal. However, at a Washington, D. C. news con- ference earlier this summer Reagan was asked whether he favored allowing an unlimited number of Mexicans to work in the United States on an open-ended basis. He answered: "I think that this is one of the subjects that will come up if the governments (of Mexico and the United States) go forward with the recommendation made by the four border-state governors along with their coun- terparts in six Mexican states along the border to the government - for the State Department - for our government to negotiate something that would be mutually beneficial to the Mexican government." Mark Heckmann, a spokesman for the Tex- as Reagan campaign, was asked to explain the confusion between what Reagan said in Texas and what Clements says Reagan meant to say. Heckmann said, "My only source on that is what Gov. Clements has said." But he added, "Maybe the statement (by Reagan) wasn't as clear as it could have been." Regardless of the confusion, Ruben Bonilla, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, contends it niakes little dif- ference whether the workers are issued per- manent or temporary visas. Bonilla called any visa system "unacceptable and unrealistic." "In dealing with the undocumented workers issue, any form of temporary program will simply increase the flow of undocumented workers into America. In addition to the entry of government-sanctioned immigration caused by the visa permits outlined by Reagan, we'll still have the illegal flow," Bonilla said from LULAC's national headquarters in Corpus Christi, Texas. William J. Chambers, Immigration and Nat- uralization Service district director in Dallas, said contract labor programs have been tried in the past, with mixed results. "There are some provisions in the present law for people to come in on a temporary basis to work. It's not used that much, partly be- cause it's a complicated procedure," he said. Bonilla said he favors a "more progressive" amnesty program than proposed by either the Republicans or Democrats, and cine that differ- entiates between families and seasonal work- ers who have no intention of remaining in the United States permanently.