US President Bush's televised speech on immigration reform

On May 15, President Bush delivered a televised speech to the American people, urging the formulation of a "safe, orderly and fair" comprehensive immigration reform plan, including the "temporary guest worker plan", and mobilizing the US National Guard to strengthen the US border patrol force. At present, President Bush focuses on four aspects of immigration reform: border security, domestic law enforcement, the establishment of temporary migrant worker programs and the integration of new immigrants into American society.

May 2006 15

President: Good evening. I want to take a few minutes of your time to discuss a national event-the reform of the American immigration system.

The issue of immigration has aroused strong emotions, and in recent weeks, Americans have seen these emotions displayed. On the streets of major cities, crowds gathered to support illegal immigrants in our country. On our southern border, others organized to stop illegal immigrants from entering the country. Across the country, Americans are trying to reconcile these contrasting images. In Washington, the debate on immigration reform has come to a decision. Tonight, I will show my position and where I want to lead our country on this crucial issue.

We must first realize the problems existing in our immigration system. For decades, the United States has not completely controlled its own borders. As a result, many people who want to work in our economy were able to sneak across our border, and millions of people stayed.

Once here, illegal immigrants live in the shadow of our society. Many people use forged documents to get jobs, which makes it difficult for employers to verify that the workers they hire are legal. Illegal immigrants put pressure on public schools and hospitals, strained state and local budgets, and brought crime to our community. These are real problems. However, we must remember that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people. They work hard, support their families, practice their beliefs and live a responsible life. They are part of American life, but they are not protected by American law.

We are a country ruled by law, and we must enforce our laws. We are also an immigrant country, and we must adhere to this tradition, which has strengthened our country in many ways. These goals are not contradictory. America can be a legal society and a friendly society at the same time. We will solve the problems caused by illegal immigrants, and we will establish a safe, orderly and fair system. Therefore, I support comprehensive immigration reform, which will achieve five clear goals.

First, the United States must ensure the security of its borders. This is the basic responsibility of a sovereign country. This is also an urgent need for our national security. Our goal is simple: the border should be open to trade and legal immigrants, and closed to illegal immigrants, criminals, drug dealers and terrorists.

I am the governor of a state with a border of 1 200 miles with Mexico. So I know how difficult it is to strengthen border management and how important it is. Since I took office as president, we have increased the funding for border security by 66% and expanded the border patrol from about 9,000 to12,000. The men and women of our border patrol team have accomplished their tasks brilliantly under difficult circumstances. In the past five years, they have arrested and repatriated about 6 million people who entered the United States illegally.

Despite this progress, we have not completely controlled the border, and I am determined to change this situation. Tonight, I call on Congress to fund bor der's great progress in manpower and technology. By the end of 2008, we will add another 6,000 border patrol personnel. When these new agents are deployed, our border patrol will be more than twice as large as during my tenure.

At the same time, we are launching the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history. We will build high-tech fences in urban corridors and new patrol roads and barriers in rural areas. We will use motion sensors, infrared cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent illegal border crossing. The United States has the best technology in the world, and we will ensure that the border patrol team has the technology they need to work and ensure the security of our borders.

It takes time to train thousands of new border patrol personnel and bring the most advanced technology to the border. However, the need to protect our borders is urgent. Therefore, I announce several urgent measures to strengthen border law enforcement during the transition period:

One way to help in this transition is to use the National Guard. Therefore, with the cooperation of the governors, as many as 6,000 guards will be deployed to our southern border. The border patrol will continue to lead. Guards will assist in border patrol by operating surveillance systems, analyzing intelligence, installing fences and vehicle roadblocks, building patrol roads and providing training. The security forces will not participate in direct law enforcement activities-this responsibility will be assumed by the border patrol. The initial commitment of the guards will last for one year. After that, with the launch of new border patrol agents and new technologies, the number of security forces will be reduced. It is important for Americans to know that we have enough security forces to win the war on terrorism, deal with natural disasters and help protect our borders.

The United States will not militarize the southern border. Mexico is our neighbor and our friend. We will continue to cooperate to improve security on both sides of the border, jointly deal with drug trafficking and crime, and reduce illegal immigration.

Another way to help during this transition period is through the state and local law enforcement agencies in our border communities. Therefore, we will increase federal funding to state and local authorities to assist the Border Patrol in carrying out targeted law enforcement tasks. We will give state and local authorities the special training they need to help federal officials arrest and detain illegal immigrants. State and local law enforcement officials are an important part of our border security, and they need to be part of our border protection strategy.

The measures I have outlined will improve our ability to catch illegal immigrants. At the same time, we must ensure that every illegal immigrant we catch who crosses our southern border is repatriated. More than 85% of the illegal immigrants we caught crossing the southern border were Mexicans, and most of them were repatriated within 24 hours. But when we catch illegal immigrants from other countries, it is not so easy to send them home. For many years, during the legal proceedings, the government did not have enough space in our detention facilities to hold them. Therefore, most people were released back to our society and asked for a date to return to court. When the appointment arrived, most of them didn't show up. This practice called "catch and release" is unacceptable, and we will end it.

We are taking several important steps to achieve this goal. We have increased the number of beds in detention facilities and will continue to do so. We have accelerated legal procedures to shorten the average expulsion time. We made it clear to foreign governments that they must accept citizens who violate our immigration laws to return home. As a result of these actions, we have ended the "arrest and release" of illegal immigrants from some countries. I will apply to Congress for additional funds and legal authorization, so that we can end the situation of "arrest and release" on the southern border once and for all. When people know that if they enter our country illegally, they will be caught and sent back to China, they are unlikely to try to smuggle.

Second, in order to protect our borders, we must establish a temporary worker program. The fact is, on the other side of our border, there are many people who are willing to do anything to work in the United States and create a better life. They crossed the desert for miles on foot in the heat, or hid in the back seat of 18 to reach our country. This has put tremendous pressure on our border, and the separation wall and patrol alone will not stop. In order to effectively protect the border, we must reduce the number of people trying to smuggle.

Therefore, I support a temporary worker program, which will create a legal path for foreign workers to enter our country in an orderly manner within a limited time. This project will match foreign workers willing to work with American employers who are willing to work. Every worker who applies for the project must pass a criminal background check. Temporary workers must return to their country after their stay.

The temporary worker program will meet the needs of our economy, and it will give honest immigrants a way to support their families while respecting the law. The temporary worker program will reduce the attractiveness of human smugglers and reduce the possibility of people risking their lives to cross the border. By replacing illegal workers with legal taxpayers, this will reduce the financial burden of state and local governments. Most importantly, a temporary worker program will increase our security by ensuring that we know who is in our country and why they are here.

Third, we need to hold employers accountable for the workers they employ. It's illegal to hire people who live illegally in this country. However, due to the widespread problem of document fraud, enterprises are often unable to verify the legal status of their employees. Therefore, comprehensive immigration reform must include a better system for verifying documents and job qualifications. A key part of the system should be to issue a new ID card to every legal foreign worker. This card should use biometric technology, such as digital fingerprint, to prevent tampering. Tamper-proof cards will help us enforce the law and give employers no excuse to break the law. By making it more difficult for illegal immigrants to find jobs in the United States, we will stop people from crossing the border illegally from the beginning.

Fourthly, we must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants have come here. They should not automatically acquire citizenship. This is my opinion, and I object. Amnesty is unfair to those who stay legally, and it will trigger more illegal immigration.

Some people in this country believe that the solution is to expel every illegal immigrant, and any proposal that fails to achieve this is equivalent to Amnesty. I don't agree. It is neither wise nor realistic to gather millions of people, many of whom have deep roots in the United States, and send them across the border. There is a reasonable middle ground between the automatic acquisition of citizenship for every illegal immigrant and the mass expulsion plan. This middle position recognizes that there is a difference between illegal immigrants who have recently crossed the border and those who have worked here for many years, have families, families and other clean records.

In my opinion, illegal immigrants who are rooted in our country and want to stay should pay meaningful fines, pay taxes, learn English and work in a job for several years. People who meet these conditions should be able to apply for citizenship, but approval will not be automatic, and they must rank behind those who abide by the rules and laws. What I have just described is not amnesty, but a way for those who break the law to repay their debts to the society and show the quality of being a good citizen.

Fifth, we must respect the great tradition of the American melting pot, which makes us a member of many nationalities. The success of our country depends on helping new immigrants integrate into our society and accept our common identity as Americans. Americans are linked by our common ideals, appreciation of our history, respect for our national flag and the ability to speak and write English. English is also the key to American opportunities. English allows newcomers from picking crops to opening grocery stores, from cleaning offices to managing offices, from low-paying jobs to diplomas, careers and their own homes. When immigrants integrate into our society and make progress in it, they realize their dreams, they renew our spirit, and they increase American unity.

Tonight, I want to say directly to the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate: the immigration reform bill needs to be comprehensive, because all the factors of this problem must be solved together, otherwise none of them can be solved. The House of Representatives passed an immigration bill. The Senate should take action at the end of this month, so that we can resolve the differences between the two bills and Congress can pass a comprehensive bill, which I will sign into law.

The United States needs to conduct this debate on immigration in a rational and respectful tone. On this issue, people feel deeply. When we solve this problem, all of us need to remember something. We can't build a unified country by inciting people's anger, or taking advantage of anyone's fear, or using immigration to gain political benefits. We must always remember that real life will be influenced by our debates and decisions, and everyone has dignity and value, no matter what is written in their citizenship documents.

I know that many parents or grandparents present here tonight came here from another country with dreams of a better life. You know what diplomacy means to them, and you know that America is a more promising country because of their hard work and sacrifice. As president, I have the opportunity to meet people from all backgrounds and hear what America means to them. On the way to Bethesda Naval Hospital, Laura and I met an injured marine named Guadalupe Denojian. When Denogean was a child, he came to America from Mexico. He spent the whole summer picking crops with his family, and then volunteered to join the United States Marine Corps whenever he had time. During the liberation of Iraq, Chief Sergeant Denogean was seriously injured. When asked if he had any demands, he made two demands: to help the corporal who rescued him get promoted and the opportunity to become an American citizen. When this brave marine raised his right hand and swore to be a citizen of the country he defended for more than 26 years, I was honored to stand beside him.

We will always be proud to welcome people like Guadalupe Denogean as American compatriots. Our new immigrants are always the same-people who are willing to risk everything for the dream of freedom. America is still what she has always been: great hope on the horizon, a door to the future, and a blessed land. We respect the heritage of all people who come here, no matter where they come from, because we believe that the genius of our country has made all of us Americans-a country under God's blessing.

Thank you. Good night.