Why not hear it from the main Bush cheerleaders themselves...
The House legislation, billed as a border protection, anti-terrorism and illegal immigration control act, includes such measures as enlisting military and local law enforcement help in stopping illegal entrants and requiring employers to verify the legal status of their workers. It authorizes the building of a fence along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The White House said in a statement that it strongly supported the House bill.
Bush praised the House for approving the bill. "America is a nation built on the rule of law, and this bill will help us protect our borders and crack down on illegal entry into the United States," he said in a statement. "I urge the Senate to take action on immigration reform so that I can sign a good bill into law."
But, but, but...I thought President Bush wasn't doing anything about illegal immigration.
Okay, I did. While the Senate was busy producing an Amnesty bill on April 5, the President was cheerleeding their efforts: President Urges Senate to Pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform
THE PRESIDENT: The United States Senate is debating a very vital issue for our country, and that is immigration reform. I urge the senators to continue to work toward getting a comprehensive bill; a bill that will help us secure our borders; a bill that will cause the people in the interior of this country to recognize and enforce the law; and a bill that will include a guest worker provision that will enable us to more secure the border, will recognize that there are people here working hard for jobs Americans won't do, and a guest worker provision that is not amnesty, one that provides for automatic citizenship.
This is a vital debate. I thank the members who are working hard to get a bill done. I strongly urge them to come to a conclusion as quickly as possible and pass a comprehensive bill.
Bush's entire emphasis was and is on a comprehensive bill, one that provides for what he eumphanistically calls guest worker provision, but which in the bill is tattered fig leaf amnesty.
He defines Amnesty in this statement as automatic citizenship. Provide a wet paper towel of hindrance to citizenship and it is no longer automatic in Bush's construct, and thus is not amnesty.
Bush was immensely pleased with the horrific Senate Amnesty bill, and you cannot deny he would have signed it in a heartbeat, with a huge White House ceremony.
I submit that amnesty for illegals is a leftist goal, that Bush supports amnesty, and thus that Bush's position on illegal immigration is leftist.