Radio Address by the President to the Nation, 04-08-06

WhiteHouse.gov ^ | 04-08-06 | George W. Bush

[Salvation]

For Immediate Release
April 8, 2006

President's Radio Address

      Audio
      In Focus: Immigration
     

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, Members of the United States Senate reached a promising bipartisan compromise on comprehensive immigration reform. Unfortunately, this compromise is being blocked by the Senate Democratic leader who has refused to allow Senators to move forward and vote on amendments to this bill. I call on the Senate Minority Leader to end his blocking tactics and allow the Senate to do its work and pass a fair, effective immigration reform bill.

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Immigration is an emotional issue and a vitally important one. At its core, immigration is the sign of a confident and successful nation. It says something about our country that people around the world are willing to leave their homes, leave their families, and risk everything to come to America. Their talent, hard work, and love of freedom have helped make America a vibrant, strong Nation. And by reforming our immigration laws to meet the realities of the 21st century, we will ensure that America remains a beacon of liberty for generations to come.

I made clear that a comprehensive immigration reform bill must include three elements:

First, comprehensive immigration reform must secure our borders. Since I took office, we've increased funding for border security by 66 percent, and Federal agents have apprehended and sent home more than 6 million people entering this country illegally, including more than 400,000 with criminal records. To improve security at the border, we're hiring thousands more Border Patrol agents; we're deploying new technologies like infrared cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles to help our agents do their jobs; we're installing physical barriers to entry, like fences in urban areas. We're making good progress, but we have much more work ahead to gain control of our border. I'll continue to work with Congress to strengthen border security, so we can prevent illegal immigrants from crossing our border and make the immigration system more orderly and secure.

Second, comprehensive immigration reform must strengthen the enforcement of our laws in America's interior. Since I took office, we've increased funding for immigration enforcement by 42 percent, increased the number of immigration enforcement agents and criminal investigators, enhanced worksite enforcement, and gone after smugglers, gang members, and human traffickers. A good immigration bill should enhance our ability to stop document fraud and help employers comply with our laws.

Finally, comprehensive immigration reform must include a temporary worker program that relieves pressure on our borders, while rejecting amnesty. A temporary worker program would create a legal way to match willing foreign workers with willing American employers to fill jobs that no American is available to do. By creating a legal channel for those seeking temporary work in America, we would reduce the number of people trying to sneak across the border. This would free up law enforcement officers to focus on criminals, drug dealers, terrorists, and others who mean us harm. A temporary worker program would also improve security by creating tamper-proof identification cards, so we can keep track of every temporary worker who is here on a legal basis and identify those who are not.

A new temporary worker program should not provide amnesty. Granting amnesty would be unfair to those who follow the rules and obey the laws. Amnesty would also be unwise, because it would encourage others to break the law and create new waves of illegal immigration. We must ensure that those who break our laws are not granted an automatic path to citizenship. We should also conduct the debate on immigration reform in a manner worthy of our Nation's best traditions.

To keep the promise of America, we must remain a welcoming society and also enforce the laws that make our freedom possible. As we do, our Nation will draw strength from the diversity of its citizens and unity from their desire to assimilate and become one people. By working together, we can fix our immigration system in a way that protects our country, upholds our laws, and makes our Nation proud.

Thank you for listening.

END

[Salvation]

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[Salvation]

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[Salvation]

**Unfortunately, this compromise is being blocked by the Senate Democratic leader who has refused to allow Senators to move forward and vote on amendments to this bill. I call on the Senate Minority Leader to end his blocking tactics and allow the Senate to do its work and pass a fair, effective immigration reform bill. **

WooHoo! The President is playing hardball with the dimocrats!

[DTogo]

To keep the promise of America, we must remain a welcoming society and also enforce the laws that make our freedom possible.

Does that include all the immigration laws on the books you currently DON'T enforce, Mr. President??

[Salvation]

Bush Blames Reid on Immigration Bill

[MNJohnnie]

Did the usual Fringe Freepers even bother to read this?

I made clear that a comprehensive immigration reform bill must include three elements: First, comprehensive immigration reform must secure our borders. Since I took office, we've increased funding for border security by 66 percent, and Federal agents have apprehended and sent home more than 6 million people entering this country illegally, including more than 400,000 with criminal records. To improve security at the border, we're hiring thousands more Border Patrol agents; we're deploying new technologies like infrared cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles to help our agents do their jobs; we're installing physical barriers to entry, like fences in urban areas. We're making good progress, but we have much more work ahead to gain control of our border. I'll continue to work with Congress to strengthen border security, so we can prevent illegal immigrants from crossing our border and make the immigration system more orderly and secure. Second, comprehensive immigration reform must strengthen the enforcement of our laws in America's interior. Since I took office, we've increased funding for immigration enforcement by 42 percent, increased the number of immigration enforcement agents and criminal investigators, enhanced worksite enforcement, and gone after smugglers, gang members, and human traffickers. A good immigration bill should enhance our ability to stop document fraud and help employers comply with our laws.

[Salvation]

In summary:

First, comprehensive immigration reform must secure our borders.

 

Second, comprehensive immigration reform must strengthen the enforcement of our laws in America's interior.

 

Finally, comprehensive immigration reform must include a temporary worker program that relieves pressure on our borders, while rejecting amnesty.

[DumpsterDiver]

Does that include all the immigration laws on the books you currently DON'T enforce, Mr. President??

Go away, boy, you bother me!

< /foghorn voice >

[DTogo]

So is El Rushbo a "fringe" conservative radio host for opposing Bush's guest worker program?

Then I guess we could say the same about a number of prominent "fringe" Conservatives as well: Hannity, Malkin, Coulter, Reagan, Savage, Liddy, etc.

[DumpsterDiver]

First, comprehensive immigration reform must secure our borders.

Get back to me after that has been accomplished.

[bcsco]

PING for later.

[DTogo]

Let me know your thoughts when it's one of your own killed at the hands of an ILLEGAL alien who shouldn't be here to begin with, let alone driving a car:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1610089/posts

[pissant]

The Preisdent's plan has the order correct: Plug the borders, Increase apprehensions first. A temoorary worker program, not the Senate's citizenship crap, is the right way to go, if we are going to contemplate such a thing.

Cmon, Mr. President, support the House bill please, then worry about a guest worker program.

[Travis McGee]

Does that include all the immigration laws on the books you currently DON'T enforce, Mr. President??

[DTogo]

BINGO! You must be a "fringe" FReeper, too! :)

[Travis McGee]

Yeah, I believe in defending our borders from invasion.

[devolve]

It's 'hurtful' to my and my (Mexican) wife!

-- Jeb Bush to the liberal LA Times



You're all xenophobic and racist!

Larry Kudlow - WABC 770am NYC

[inquest]

Again, he speaks disingenuously on this issue. Nowhere in his address does he even intimate that he favors allowing illegals here in the country to apply for legal status, even though that's formed an integral part of the legislative proposals he's made, and even though that's the whole reason for this controversy.

Why is he constantly running away from this position of his? Is he ashamed of it for some reason?

[potlatch]

I hate it that Jeb is coming out with this type of statement. The whole illegal issue did not 'have to do' with Mexicans - per se - it has to do with coming illegally and living off of us and the government.

[Shuttle Shucker]

The more pressure we keep on Mexico, immigration-wise, the more reformers inside of Mexico can be emboldened and empowered to scale back monopolists' abuses down there which keep our own country flooded with economic refugees. Here's an interesting new thread on new legal progress that finally emerged in Mexico I think as a result of immigration reform's failure:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1611677/posts

We can make a difference for our sake, and their's as well. Isn't it the neighborly thing to do?