Tom Tancredo for President 2008: “Our Last and Only Hope to Save AMERICA”
Posted on 12/20/2004 8:49:00 AM PST by TFine80
QUESTION: Mr. President, since early in your first term you've talked about immigration reform. But yet people in your own party on the hill seem opposed to this idea and you've got an opposition, even on the other side.
Do you plan to expend some of your political capital this time to see this through?
BUSH: Yes, I appreciate that question.
First of all, welcome. I'd like to welcome all the new faces -- some prettier than others, I might add. But...
(LAUGHTER)
Yes, I intend to work with members of Congress to get something done. I think this is an issue that will make it easier for us to enforce our borders.
And I believe it's an issue that will show the -- if when we get it right, the compassion and heart of the American people.
And no question, it's a tough issue, just like some of the other issues we're taking on. But my job is to confront tough issues. And to ask Congress to work together to confront tough issues.
Now, let me talk about the immigration issue.
First we want our Border Patrol agents chasing crooks and thieves and drug runners and terrorists, not good-hearted people who are coming here to work. And, therefore, it makes sense to allow the good-hearted people who are coming here to do jobs that Americans won't do a legal way to do so. And providing that legal avenue, it takes the pressure off the border.
Now, we need to make sure the border is modern and we need to upgrade our Border Patrol. But if we expect the Border Patrol to be able to enforce a long border, particularly in the south -- and the north, for that matter -- we ought to have a system that recognizes people are coming here to do jobs that Americans will not do. And there ought to be a legal way for them to do so.
To me that, is -- and not only that, but once the person is here, if he or she feels like he or she needs to go back to see their family, to the country of origin, they should be able to do so within a prescribed -- the card and the permit would last for a prescribed period of time.
It's a compassionate way to treat people who come to our country. It recognizes the reality of the world in which we live. There are some jobs in America that Americans won't do and others are willing to do.
Now, one of the important aspects of my vision is that this is not automatic citizenship. The American people must understand that, that if somebody who is here working wants to be a citizen, they can get in line like those who have been here legally and have been working to become a citizenship (sic) in a legal manner.
And this is a very important issue, and I look forward to working with members of Congress. I fully understand the politics of immigration reform. I mean, I was the governor of Texas, right there on the front lines of border politics. You know, I know what it means to have mothers and fathers come to my state and across the border of my state to work.
Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande river, is what I used to tell the people of my state.
People are coming to put food on the table. They're doing jobs Americans will not do. And to me, it makes sense for us to recognize that reality and to help those who are needing to enforce our borders, legalize the process of people doing jobs Americans won't do, take the pressure off of employers so they're not having to rely upon false I.D.s, cut out the coyotes who are the smugglers of these people, putting them in the back of tractor-trailers in the middle of August in Texas, allowing people to suffocate in the back of the truck, stop the process of people feeling like they got to walk miles across desert in Arizona and Texas in order just to feed their family, and they find them dead out there, you know.
I mean, this is a system that can be much better.
And I'm passionate on it because the nature of this country is one that is good-hearted and compassionate. Our people are compassionate.
The system we have today is not a compassionate system. It's not working. And as a result, the country is less secure than it could be with a rational system.
VERY disappointed.
I thought Liberatarians & their open border policy only got 0.1% in November.
Full FNS transcripts availiable at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-122004bushtext_wr,0,842045.story?coll=la-home-headlines
and
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,142065,00.html
Vote for Hillary! She'll save us!!!
I almost read what I was hoping he would say.
The first priority is to control the borders...then do something about the 10 million or so illegal immigrants currently residing in the US.
You can't even begin to hope to have any success with internal controls if you don't first figure out how to control the borders - airports, seaports, and all land crossings.
Most of the people in this country are sick of being "compassionate" when it comes to illegal aliens and want our immigration laws and borders enforced. Bush is gonna lose big on this issue. Glad to see illegal immigration as an issue they are going to have to confront finally though.
I don't see how he can say that the Border Patrol should only be looking for terrorists and crooks and not economic migrants. They look the same!
Even if his initiative is passed, it won't stop illegal immigration. He's incredibly naive to believe this.
The President is right we have to find a legal way to help people who come here to do jobs Americans don't want to do without giving them automatic citizenship. And we've got to protect our borders from those who like don't have the best interests of our country at heart. With immigration reform we have to strike the right balance. I'm glad to see the President recognize the American people won't accept amnesty of any kind but the hard work of dealing with a tough issue is only beginning.
Heard a good line on that recently. Since Time Magazine estimated there are 10,000 illegals a day now crossing our borders.....are there 10,000 jobs a day being created that Americans won't do? Think about it.
He knows it won't stop illegal immigration, he's hoping the American people are naive enough to believe it will.
A very good line indeed, although, I very much doubt that 10,000 are getting by us each day. It's about half of that, but your still correct. Are 5,000 jobs being created each day that Americans won't do?
Really? Then why don't Americans take those jobs? Let's drop the hypocrisy and admit there are some jobs Americans consider beneath them that they would prefer to have others do for them. Its not fair to treat people who come here to feed their families all like they're criminals - its neither compassionate nor is it a good use of our law enforcement resources. We might as well admit we need them and provide a legal way for them to work here and also allow them to return to their country. As long as they don't get citizenship or rewarded for breaking our laws, I think its something we can live with. Let's not pretend they aren't here and let's not pretend the political will exists to deport them all.
Even if the numbers are inflated it still rings true.
Agreed.
I live surrounded by illegal immigrants in Queens, NYC.
Many of them wouldn't sign up for this program even if it was offered. The dirty secret is that they like being in the shadows.
They don't have to pay taxes. They can go where they want. Work where they want. The only reason they would sign on Bush's program is if they wanted to become citizens.
The illegals have run down wages well enough that Americans, especially in Cali, cannot afford to take them.
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