Radio Address by the President to the Nation, 10-22-05

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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 22, 2005

President's Radio Address

     Audio
     In Focus: Homeland Security
     

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I signed into law a bill that supports our ongoing efforts to defend our homeland.

To defend this country, we have to enforce our borders. When our borders are not secure, terrorists, drug dealers, and criminals find it easier to sneak into America. My administration has a clear strategy for dealing with this problem: We want to stop people from crossing into America illegally, and to quickly return the illegal immigrants we catch back to their home countries.

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For the past four years, we've been implementing this strategy. To stop illegal immigrants from coming across our borders, we've added manpower, upgraded our technology, and taken the final steps necessary to complete a 14-mile barrier running along the San Diego border with Mexico. To enforce our immigration laws within our borders, we've hired more immigration agents, gone after criminal gangs, and targeted smugglers and coyotes who traffic in human beings. We are getting results: Since 2001, we have removed more than 4.8 million illegal immigrants from the United States, including more than 300,000 with criminal records.

Our border patrol and immigration agents are doing a fine job, but we still have a problem. Too many illegal immigrants are coming in, and we're capturing many more non-Mexican illegal immigrants than we can send home. And one of the biggest reasons we cannot send them back is that we lack space in our detention facilities to hold them until they are removed. When there's no bed available, non-Mexicans who are caught entering our country illegally are given a slip that tells them to come back for a court appearance. Most never show up. And then they disappear back into the shadows of our communities. This is called "catch-and-release," and it is unacceptable.

The bill I signed includes $7.5 billion that will help us address the problem of illegal immigration in two important ways. First, it provides more than $2.3 billion for the Border Patrol so we can keep more illegal immigrants from getting into the country in the first place. These funds will help us hire a thousand new border patrol agents, improve our technology and intelligence, expand and improve Border Patrol stations, and install and improve fencing, lighting, vehicle barriers, and roads along our border areas. I appreciate the help Congress has given us for our common goal of creating more secure borders.

Second, this bill also provides $3.7 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement so we can find and return the illegal immigrants who are entering our country. With these funds, we can expand the holding capacity of our detention facilities by 10 percent. This will allow us to hold more non-Mexican illegal immigrants while we process them through a program we call "expedited removal." This will make the process faster and more efficient. Putting more non-Mexican illegal immigrants through expedited removal is crucial to sending back people who have come here illegally. As Secretary Chertoff told the Senate this week, our goal is to return every single illegal entrant, with no exceptions. And this bill puts us on the path to do that.

For Mexicans who cross into America illegally, we have a different plan, but the same goal. Now, most of the 900,000 illegal immigrants from Mexico who are caught each year are immediately escorted back across the border. The problem is that these illegal immigrants are able to connect with another smuggler or coyote and come right back in. So one part of the solution is a program called "interior repatriation" where we fly or bus these illegal immigrants all the way back to their hometowns in the interior of Mexico. By returning illegal Mexican immigrants to their homes, far away from desert crossings, we're saving lives and making it more difficult for them to turn right around and cross back into America.

As we improve and expand our efforts to secure our borders, we must also recognize that enforcement cannot work unless it's part of a comprehensive immigration reform that includes a temporary worker program. If an employer has a job that no American is willing to take, we need to find a way to fill that demand by matching willing employers with willing workers from foreign countries on a temporary and legal basis. I'll work with members of Congress to create a program that will provide for our economy's labor needs without harming American workers, and without granting amnesty, and that will relieve pressure on our borders.

A critical part of any temporary worker program is ensuring that our immigration laws are enforced at work sites. America is a country of laws; we must not allow dishonest employers to flout those laws. So we've doubled the resources for work site enforcement since 2004.

We have much more work ahead of us. But the Homeland Security bill I signed this week provides vital support for our efforts to deal with the problem of illegal immigration, and make all Americans safer and more secure.

Thank you for listening.

END

[Dante3]

Isn't it discrimination, racism, or some such thing to give different treatment to Mexicans than to Norwegians, Brazilians, Salvadorians, and others?

[DumpsterDiver]

As Secretary Chertoff told the Senate this week, our goal is to return every single illegal entrant, with no exceptions. And this bill puts us on the path to do that. For Mexicans who cross into America illegally, we have a different plan, but the same goal.

Illegal entrants of the future, that is. And nothing about deporting current illegal aliens from Mexico, just blatherings about bringing in more "willing workers" for "willing employers".

Illegal alien Mexicans - the protected class. The "different plan", of course is to let them stay, all 15? million of them, and there won't be a thing to stop the next 15 million from coming in after amnesty is granted.

Agreed.

What happened to the promise several years back that "there will be no more amnesties" for Mexicans?

"Shut up, shut up, shut up", say most of the reps in D.C.

[ncgal]

Put the military on the border until the fence is finished. They could always hire illegals to build the fence for $8-$10 per hr & send them back when completed. With 1,000,000+ crossing yearly it shouldn't take too long.

[tertiary01]

The rule of thumb for the highway masonry sound barrier walls that are all over this state, used to be a million dollars a mile give or take. I don't believe they are 16 feet high in most places. 1.7 million for 2 metal 16 high foot walls with a paved road in between doesn't seem that extravagant by comparison.

[jackbenimble]

But we also have the integrity to acknowledge and praise our President when he does the right thing, as this legislation and this radio address appear to be.

I would be more willing to praise the President if I thought he was sincere. But in truth, he was against this legislation and Congress had to stuff it down his throat. His budget only requested 200 new Border Patrol agents. This bill funded 1000 and additional funding for 500 more was included in the Iraq War Supplemental Funding bill.

The only thing I believe the President is sincere about is throwing open our borders to unlimited numbers of cheap labor serfs. I am not at all convinced that is the right thing to do and he is not going to get any praise about it from me. His tough talk about border security is just a ploy to accomplish that goal and his failure to enforce any of our immigration laws against employers convinces me that he has no intention of sincerely enforcing our laws. When he took office there were between 6 and 8 million illegals. Now there are at least 11 million and perhaps 20. The only acknowledgment the President deserves on this issue is that he has absolutely and willfully failed in his duty. For that he deserves condemnation, not praise.

[kitkat]

Good posts, both of you.

There were several problems the President had to solve:

1. Mexico is one of our two IMMEDIATE neighbors, and we can't risk all-out war with a country so physically close to us. This bill should satisfy President Fox of Mexico, while allowing Mexicans to cross the border for jobs that need to be filled here.

2. This bill DOES fill some of those above-mentioned jobs.

3. Law-breaking employers have been a large part of the problem. Now there will be more prosecution, and heavy fines for them.

4. Non-Mexicans crossing our border will be identified, jailed and sent back. It will be easier to I.D. them if they attempt to cross again.

5. 7.5 BILLION dollars was a tough bill to get through Congress. And the President is well aware that SOME people will be yelling about government spending. But he did it in spite of the naysayers. Good for Dubya.

6. Every politician of every party knows that the Spanish-speaking vote is important to his party. The President has found a way to satisfy the legal Mexican immigrants without opening the borders to illegals from Mexico and South America.

Now, if the naysayers around here want to donate the money to build a 20-foot fence along 1,950 miles of border, then let them do it and stop complaining about the "big-spending" administration.

[ncgal]

I'd rather pay for the fence than keep supporting millions of illegals. At least with the fence, it'll eventually be finished! Supporting illegals is never ending.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

A critical part of any temporary worker program is ensuring that our immigration laws are enforced at work sites.

It's so critical that we had zero enforcement last year against employers. I expect his poll numbers to continue their free fall as he peddles this winner.

[ncgal]

SAY WHAT?

[ncgal]

"Isn't it discrimination, racism, or some such thing to give different treatment to Mexicans than to Norwegians, Brazilians, Salvadorians, and others?"

Sounds like profiling to me. Somebody call ACLU.

[Morgan in Denver]

One aspect I'm not all that happy with is the catch and release policy. IF we are not doing it, I'd like to see caught illegals identified and recorded. There should also be some punishment provided if they are caught a second, third, fourth or whatever time they illegally enter the US.

Having the names of specific individuals to use in pressuring every government into helping restrict their citizens continued illegal behavior would help, and I would support making each home country financially responsible for our costs of capturing their citizens coming into America and our expense in returning them.

[Morgan in Denver]

I hope you're right. Like many, too many perhaps, I don't spend a lot of time learning enough to complain. That's harder since I don't trust much of what is in the MSM. Still, it sure seems there are some simple common sense actions the US could or should do to stop the flow while still addressing employer needs and concerns.

[HiJinx]

The key there was that the legislation signed on Tuesday and the radio address today 'appear' to be an answer to our hollering for the last three years.

Have you seen this story?

[HiJinx]

You're right. What the administration should never have done was to allow the Minutemen to show them up.

That may have been the single greatest factor in the about face we're seeing. The administration was shamed before the world by the Minutemen.

[dalereed]

"They could always hire illegals to build the fence for $8-$10 per hr & send them back when completed."

Their workmanship is so crappy that they would probably come back right through the fence.

Arrest, jail, and fine to the maximum anyone that employs illegals including homeowners that pick them up on the corner!

[ncgal]

"Citing security and safety concerns, Mosier declined to disclose the number of troops involved and how long the mission would last."

Maybe as long as it takes to build the fence?

[B4Ranch]

"From what I've read, there have been attempts made by Pres., Congress, and by state authorities to control the borders. Maybe they could do more, I guess. But to say that nothing is done, they don't care(and some don't!), he wants open borders/overall, etc.. is nonsense, and not true!"

You need to check the facts about what's been done. Imagine that you had the authority and budget our President has when you read my rantings, and see if you could do more.

Allow me to analyze this radio broadcast for you.

>>This week I signed into law a bill that supports our ongoing efforts to defend our homeland.<<

Really? How nice because the President has held the door wide open for the illegal invasion from Day One.

>> To defend this country, we have to enforce our borders. When our borders are not secure, terrorists, drug dealers, and criminals find it easier to sneak into America. My administration has a clear strategy for dealing with this problem: We want to stop people from crossing into America illegally, and to quickly return the illegal immigrants we catch back to their home countries.

<< The administrations clear strategy for dealing with this problem includes allowing matricular consular cards to be used as identification. This is a card that is purchased from the Mexican government, the only verification that is required is cash in your hand. 88,000 US banks now accept this unverified ID as acceptable ID to open accounts. Our welfare offices will accept it when you apply for benefits. Our schools accept it when you register your illegal alien children for schools.

>>For the past four years, we've been implementing this strategy. To stop illegal immigrants from coming across our borders, we've added manpower, upgraded our technology, and taken the final steps necessary to complete a 14-mile barrier running along the San Diego border with Mexico. To enforce our immigration laws within our borders, we've hired more immigration agents, gone after criminal gangs, and targeted smugglers and coyotes who traffic in human beings. We are getting results: Since 2001, we have removed more than 4.8 million illegal immigrants from the United States, including more than 300,000 with criminal records.<<

If the administration was actually concerned with terrorists, drug dealers, and criminals they would have secured the borders by the end of September 2001. If we are fighting a war here at home then we should do it. If thousands of men and women must volunteer their time to bring this issue forth by actually going down to the border and acting as eyes and ears for the Border Patrol AT THIS LATE DATE, then you should have a solid picture about just how effective the Bush administration has been in this issue. Yes, the Border Patrol installed portable guard booths called cyclopes, but it doesn't have enough agents to man them yet!

>>Our border patrol and immigration agents are doing a fine job, but we still have a problem. Too many illegal immigrants are coming in, and we're capturing many more non-Mexican illegal immigrants than we can send home. And one of the biggest reasons we cannot send them back is that we lack space in our detention facilities to hold them until they are removed. When there's no bed available, non-Mexicans who are caught entering our country illegally are given a slip that tells them to come back for a court appearance. Most never show up. And then they disappear back into the shadows of our communities. This is called "catch-and-release," and it is unacceptable. <<

America would not need more detention facilities to hold illegal aliens if the border was secure because the illegals would not be coming across in such large numbers! He has finally admitted that the "catch-and-release program" is unacceptable to the average American citizen. Polls show 80% of Americans are fed up with this fiddling around.

>>The bill I signed includes $7.5 billion that will help us address the problem of illegal immigration in two important ways. First, it provides more than $2.3 billion for the Border Patrol so we can keep more illegal immigrants from getting into the country in the first place. These funds will help us hire a thousand new border patrol agents, improve our technology and intelligence, expand and improve Border Patrol stations, and install and improve fencing, lighting, vehicle barriers, and roads along our border areas. I appreciate the help Congress has given us for our common goal of creating more secure borders.<<

Are you ready? This $12 billion dollars is BUDGETED OUT OVER 10 YEARS! You tell me this shows his sincere concern or is he just spreading more manure?

>>Second, this bill also provides $3.7 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement so we can find and return the illegal immigrants who are entering our country. With these funds, we can expand the holding capacity of our detention facilities by 10 percent. This will allow us to hold more non-Mexican illegal immigrants while we process them through a program we call "expedited removal." This will make the process faster and more efficient. Putting more non-Mexican illegal immigrants through expedited removal is crucial to sending back people who have come here illegally. As Secretary Chertoff told the Senate this week, our goal is to return every single illegal entrant, with no exceptions. And this bill puts us on the path to do that.<<

Remember that this $12 billion dollars is BUDGETED OUT OVER 10 YEARS! Have you figured out yet if he has sincere concern or is he just spreading more manure?

>>As we improve and expand our efforts to secure our borders, we must also recognize that enforcement cannot work unless it's part of a comprehensive immigration reform that includes a temporary worker program. If an employer has a job that no American is willing to take, we need to find a way to fill that demand by matching willing employers with willing workers from foreign countries on a temporary and legal basis. I'll work with members of Congress to create a program that will provide for our economy's labor needs without harming American workers, and without granting amnesty, and that will relieve pressure on our borders.<<

Five uears ago the wages for framers and sheetrockers was almost double what it is today thanks to employers being able to say they can't find Americans to do the job. "Thank you Mr. President for taking care of these needy immigrants" is what these unemployed Americans are saying. (SARCASM) Instead they have borrowed against their homes, cancelled plans to send kids to college while readjusting their life to a lower income level. I'm certain you would be happy to do the same to support our President, wouldn't you?

>>A critical part of any temporary worker program is ensuring that our immigration laws are enforced at work sites. America is a country of laws; we must not allow dishonest employers to flout those laws. So we've doubled the resources for work site enforcement since 2004.<<

Did you notice there are no numbers of past enforcement? It was so minuscule even I can't recall it. It is something like four convictions. How many illegals are employed in America today? Could you do better than he has done? With your eyes closed you could!

Remember that one of Bush's goals is to "promote compassion" and get Congress and the country to "understand the broken system" that now includes an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, most of them from Mexico. Remember the discussions about amnesty and matching "willing workers with willing employers? Did you take note when he crumpled the Davis-Bacon law in Louisiana and cut the wage levels?

>>We have much more work ahead of us. But the Homeland Security bill I signed this week provides vital support for our efforts to deal with the problem of illegal immigration, and make all Americans safer and more secure.

Thank you for listening.<< Yes, Thank you for listening to the facts. By the way I don't have a single voter or financial supporter to please, that is why I can state the facts. Our President hasn't done diddly squat compared to the enormity of the problem. If this situation existed in Iraq we would be losing the war instead of winning it. Don't bark about how much money he has put towards fighting illegal immigration because, in total, it doesn't amount to one hours cost of the war in Iraq.

Could you have done more with your eyes closed and your back to the border, as he has done?

[calrighty]

"As we improve and expand our efforts to secure our borders, we must also recognize that enforcement cannot work unless it's part of a comprehensive immigration reform that includes a temporary worker program. If an employer has a job that no American is willing to take, we need to find a way to fill that demand by matching willing employers with willing workers from foreign countries on a temporary and legal basis. I'll work with members of Congress to create a program that will provide for our economy's labor needs without harming American workers, and without granting amnesty, and that will relieve pressure on our borders. "

Same old con, new suit. I used to think Bush was just obtuse when it came to illegal immigration. I am now convinced that he is fully aware of what he is doing to our middle class, and is right on board with it.

[calrighty]

BTTT

[ncgal]

"Their workmanship is so crappy that they would probably come back right through the fence."
Maybe get some big, mean Marines to supervise them.