[Pubbie]

"Two sources speaking on condition of anonymity said Bush would outline a set of principles rather than a detailed piece of legislation,"

This is very good news. If there is no specific plan, then Bush can't send anything to Congress for a vote.

If we can just survive this last election cycle without an Amnesty being passed by Congress, then there won't be one passed during Bush's second term because the GOP will be too worried about 2008 to focus on an Amnesty.

[AzJohn]

I wonder if it is really the case that this major change in immigration law is to be limited to only Mexico. No one else seems to have this particular story except AP. I suppose we'll know for sure within the next couple days.

[hosepipe]

Is it possible Bush will do something completely stupid to pave the way for the Hildebeasts run for Prez... ?

His daddy found a way to get Clinton elected (i.e. loudly claiming no new taxes, then taxed )... Really hope I'm just being contrary... but things lately republicratly are pointing ominously strange... any legal status for illegals (when he don't really need to do that) would betray him to me as part of a really big problem and the anti-thesis of the answer.
What IF the democrats are right about Bush ?...

N.A.H!.!

[JoeSchem]

Meanwhile our soldiers are being forced to stay in Iraq and Afghanistan past their enlistment dates. It's quite simple how Karl Rove thinks: If you're fighting for your country or a citizen, we punish you. If you're here illegally, we fawn all over you.

[SevenDaysInMay]

Bush's abdication of his responsibility to defend our sovereign borders OR his active conspiracy to nullify our sovereign borders and rule of law is a direct violation of his oath of office.

The USA dies not need the 20-30 million 3rd World criminal aliens - men, women, and children, currently in this American nation. If any organized crime is RICO, this organized criminal alien protection scam is it.

Politicians are acting as outlaws brazenly committing crimes enabling the swarms of criminals to degrade our standards of living, harm our environment, and destroy our education/health infrastructure with their hordes.

Our national security in this perpetual islamist Terror War demands that We the People take back our Republic, or lose it forever. Our outlaw politicians shall push this unique American republic beyond our ability to defend our nation as a the American Constitutional Republic we inherited.

[RnMomof7]

Well if he really thinks this will get him the Hispanic votes he is delusional ..all it does is cost him conservative votes..

[dagnabbit]

Remember folks - if the illegals in the country today "deserve" amnesty, so will the illegals who arrive next year or five years from now. So if Bush Jr. gets away with this one, that's it. Amnesties will be a permanent part of our our political landscape, enacted with increasing frequency until the Federal Government just saves itself the bother by granting automatic rights-of-residence to entire countries and blocks of countries.

[Bikers4Bush]

Hasn't this basically been a standard all along? Can't a company sponsor an individual through employment and get them a work visa?

This does NOTHING to address the hordes that are crossing the southern border, and I'm not just talking about the mexicans that border is a safe haven for any illegal from any country looking to cross.

[FrontlinesofFreedom]

Howard Dean's position on immigration

http://beta.deanforamerica.com/site/cg/index.html?type=page&pagename=policy_statement_civilrights_immigration

America is an immigrant nation. As President, I will recognize and respect the vital role immigrants have played in building the American community.

Candidate Bush promised that he would be a different kind of Republican, supportive of immigrants and their desires to achieve the American Dream. Candidate Bush promised to revamp the naturalization process so that immigrants who met the requirements could obtain their citizenship in six months or less. In 2001, President Bush said he would work with President Fox of Mexico to develop a new immigration policy that recognized the economic contribution of immigrants, particularly those from Mexico, and that would respect the human rights of these migrants.

Unfortunately, President Bush has not kept these promises.

While he made these promises and invited mariachis to play at the White House, his Attorney General, John Ashcroft, was deputizing local police authorities as junior INS agents to track down undocumented immigrants. Instead of exercising leadership to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, President Bush has turned his back on Mexico and other Latin American countries. He has ignored the dreams of millions of immigrants to become a legitimate part of our society, and not simply its unseen workforce. Instead of revamping and streamlining the immigration agency and its processes, the President has allowed the agency to be swallowed up into the Department of Homeland Security, where immigrants are routinely treated as terrorists until proven otherwise.

We need a White House that will lead Congress to enact real immigration reform. As President, I will work tirelessly to achieve that goal.

*
I will work to ensure that people who work hard, pay taxes, and otherwise obey the rules can become full participants in our society, including becoming citizens.
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I will work to regularize the inevitable future migration of labor in a way that makes economic and humanitarian sense. Deaths in the desert do neither.
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I will propose reforms that ensure we can meet our economy’s need for workers at all skill levels, without pitting foreign workers against U.S. workers and while respecting workers' rights including the right to organize.
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I will work to forge stronger partnerships with countries from which immigrants migrate -- especially Mexico -- so that in the long run, fewer people will be driven by desperation to break laws and risk their lives for basic opportunities that every human being deserves.
*
I will work to ensure that immigrants who are detained by the Department of Homeland Security are afforded their basic civil rights and that our concern for national security does not become another excuse for racial profiling.
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I will build on our country’s long history of welcoming immigrants in ways that reflect our need for security but do not sacrifice the basic ideals upon which this nation was founded.