Currently, they bring in about 50,000 such workers a year.
In theory, such workers and their families can keep their group health benefits for 18 months under a federal law, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, known as Cobra.
What is known as "contingent work," or "flexible" and "alternative" staffing arrangements, has proliferated, although exact figures are hard to come by because of difficulties in tracking such workers.
Some studies have observed the increase in blood pressure measures on workers exposed to noise but they have failed in characterizing such workers as hypertensive.
It is also common in Mississippi for such workers to eventually be pardoned by the governor, who is entrusted with that ability by the state's Constitution.
Bear in mind that such workers, even if they work full time, by and large don't pay income taxes (although they pay plenty in payroll and sales taxes), while they may receive benefits like Medicaid and food stamps.
Children of expatriate workers with very low income would not have been included in sampling since such workers were not allowed to bring families.
In previous transitions (for example, California's North Coast shift from redwood logging), critical safety nets were put in place for such workers.
Mr. Clinton asked Congress to provide 200,000 visas for such workers in each of the next three years.
"It's easier to monitor" the number of such workers in the program for larger businesses, he said, because it has awarded grants for just 75 companies.
