Over a decade later, on April 28, 1956, the El Paso Herald Post said, "More than 80,000 braceros pass through the El Paso Center annually. They're part of an army of 350,000 or more that marches across the border each year to help plant, cultivate and harvest cotton and other crops throughout the United States".
In the mid-1980's, President Ronald Wilson Reagan signed the first bona fide blanket amnesty for illegal aliens in American history. Unfortunately, rather than reduce the flow of illegal aliens, it encouraged a flood of new illegal immigration.
So, as history shows, this is a problem with a long history and precedents set by other presidents. It is a problem inherited by this president. In a post-9/11 world, the question is: What do we do with the millions of illegals already here? President Bush's proposal of a guest worker program most defintely is NOT an amnesty. Rather, it is a modernized form of the old Bracero program. It will be debated in Congress — and can be defeated there if its opponents work vigorously enough.
To reiterate, the title is President of the United States, not president of any particular political party or ideology. Any president will call each issue like he sees it. It is a sign of character and courage in a president if he calls an issue in a way he knows is unpopular. Our system of government provides plenty of opportunity to defeat unpopular proposals by any president. It doesn't require a break with the president, either. All the people have to do is stop whining on forums like this, get off their duffs, and work to defeat it.