Transcript: President Discusses Comprehensive Immigration Reform

The White House ^ | April 24, 2006 | Office of the Press Secretary

[primeval patriot]

This was posted on the Bush Speech in Irvine - Live thread but it's long enough for its own standalone thread.

[mthom]

Bush is explicitly endorsing a path to citizenship for illegals. Bush has been lying to us for the past two years when he said he did not support that. He cannot be trusted on immigration.

[bnelson44]

And so it meant there was a lot of wasted effort by the Border Patrol. We're going to change that. One of the things that Congress has done, it's done a good job of providing additional money for bed space and money to make sure that we can send people back home. You got people coming up who want to work, see. They're going broke at home; they want to put food on the table; they go to unbelievable lengths to come and feed their families. We're catching them, we're putting them back in -- we're stopping that. Our job is to enforce this border -- 6 million people have been turned back. And we got a strategy in place to make sure that this border is as tight as it possibly can be.

What is he talking about?

[kingu]

Blah, blah, blah.. Mr. President, the last amnesty resulted in less than fifty percent of the qualified illegals applying for citizenship. What makes you believe that this amnesty will result in any further participation? And beyond, why would they bother to participate in it at all? They didn't follow our immigration rules before, what implies that they'll suddenly do so now?

[sheana]

6 million people have been turned back

spin, spin, spin

And what is it the BP estimates get by them for every one they catch? If 6 million were turned back that means 18 mil got in.

pathethic!!!!!!

[livius]

We need comprehensive immigration reform. The problem is that it is easier to get into this country illegally than legally. When my great grandparents arrived from Ireland, all you had to be was free of TB, and holding a certain amount of cash and the address of a relative in the US. Now people who want to come here and work can't do it, well, certainly not while they're young enough to work.

We only let in - legally - dysfunctional Muslims who claim to be "refugees" (along with anybody who claims to be their relative) and people who have spent 10-20 years on the list. I had an Australian friend who applied and spent years going back and forth to the office; finally she wrote to her congressman, and he cut through the red tape.

We need a better immigration system. And we need to do what nobody wants to do, which is call Mexico on the carpet and ask why a country that could be as rich and productive as ours is a third-world socialist oligarchy that has no economy and has to export its people.

[Jimbaugh]

Bush cannot be trusted on anything.

[trubluolyguy]

"that recognizes we are a nation of immigrants, that we have had a grand tradition in this country of welcoming people into our society"

First of all El Presidente, we are a country of L-E-G-A-L Immigrants. Second of all, these criminals aren't interested in being a part of our society, they want to take the southwest of this country back and you sir are doing your level best to ensure that they do just that.

[JCEccles]

I thik he's saying he wants the border patrol to concentrate on catching drug runners and to leave the other illegal aliens alone.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Bush lied about protecting America's borders, so what else is he freaken lying about? Can't trust or believe him on much of anything now.

[SeaBiscuit]

GWB speaking on Irag: "It's not easy work, by the way, to go from tyranny to democracy."

"Not easy".. yet Mr. President, you believe it's doable.. Too bad you don't believe the same about sealing the borders. Too bad, that is, for Americans.

[Shermy]

For me the worst lie Bush tells is the insinuation that he has done anything to control the borders rather than the opposite.

[holyscroller]

"Secondly, we have got a problem with -- we have a problem we're going to solve this year, by the way, of catching people from -- non-Mexican illegal immigrants, and just sending them back into society. There weren't enough detention beds. So you got the people down there working hard -- 6 million people crossing since 2001 and sent home. But most of the Mexican citizens who were caught trying to illegally come in the country were sent back to their country. But if you catch somebody from Central America coming back, you just can't send them back for a while, so there needs to be a place to detain them. We didn't have enough bed space. And so we had catch-and-release. We're asking people to go down there and do their job, and they find somebody from Central America sneaking in and they say, check back in with us in 45 days, come and see your immigration guy down there. (Laughter.) And they weren't checking back in after 45 days. (Laughter.) They were coming to work, see. They wanted to put food on the table for their families, and they weren't interested in checking back in."

So many lies and deceptions, it's hard to count them all. I can't believe how trusting and gullible I was then I first voted for Bush. How I wish I knew then what I know now. He has convinced me of one thing still...he loves Mexicans way more than he loves Americans. We've been invaded, now we're an occupied country, and he loves it. Sad!

[JCEccles]

Bush is following his heart on this issue. He sincerely believes that most illegal aliens are honest, hard-working people who just want to contribute to America and get ahead in life like anyone else. In Bush's mind, that moral imperative trumps the letter of the law. He's willing to pay lip service to the law by demanding that the illegals pay modest fines as a condition to gaining guest worker status, but that's about it.

I really don't think his mind can be changed on this. The heart has its own true compass.

[holyscroller]

"I think he's saying he wants the border patrol to concentrate on catching drug runners and to leave the other illegal aliens alone.

That's EXACTLY what he said. Disgusting!

[Peter N.]

Bush is pathetic !

[stephenjohnbanker]

Bush is back on the booze.

[stephenjohnbanker]

Bush is a LIAR!

[Jimbaugh]

Bush is selling out to the people he cares about, the people with the big money who need slaves so they won't have to pay too much for a gardener.

Bush is a crook. Big OIL is his friend and they get RICH.
Big companies need low wage workers and they get RICH.

The only problem the middle class gets the bill.

Bush is making Carter look like a genius. I will never vote for another BUSH (sorry JEB) or any of the current Bush clones.