Posted on 05/14/2006 4:54:42 PM PDT by FairOpinion
GEORGE BUSH will today announce the deployment of thousands of US troops to the border with Mexico to stem illegal immigration. In a televised address, his first since December, President Bush will hope to repair deep Republican rifts over immigration and restore some momentum to his Administration.
He will put fresh emphasis on the need to fix holes in America’s porous border with Mexico, which has helped more than 11 million illegal immigrants to slip into the US in recent years.
A package of security measures is expected to include the promise that border areas will be militarised in effect by the deployment of thousands of National Guardsmen.
This is a concession aimed at conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives who have been threatening to wreck a compromise deal on immigration reform.
The White House has tacitly backed proposals, due to be debated again this week in the Senate, that would grant legal “guest worker” status to millions of undocumented workers already in the US and put them on the path to citizenship.
Mr Bush believes that such a scheme is the only way to satisfy the needs of the economy for cheap and plentiful labour. After marches by millions of Latino workers in recent weeks, the Republican leadership in the Senate has also been persuaded to support the plan.
But it remains sharply at odds with a hardline Bill passed last December by Republican congressmen in the House of Representatives who are possibly more in touch with the party’s conservative base. This would spend billions of dollars building new fences along the Mexican border, as well as making felons of undocumented workers without offering them any route to legality.
The split comes before crucial mid-term elections this November when Democrats hope to regain control of Congress — and confirm Mr Bush as a lame-duck president.
Tonight’s broadcast will be the first TV address made by Mr Bush on a domestic issue since he entered the White House more than five years ago. The power to speak directly to the American people is called the presidency’s “bully-pulpit”, but it is also one of the last pieces of political weaponry remaining in the arsenal of an increasingly desperate Administration. Mr Bush, whose approval ratings fell to 29 per cent in a Wall Street Journal poll on Friday, has been damaged by his handling of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and rising petrol prices. He will be speaking tonight at the start of another testing week.
Political opponents are seizing on new disclosures on the extent of the Administration’s domestic surveillance programme, which they claim may have breached the law. Karl Rove, Mr Bush’s senior strategist, has made plain that this is a fight he is happy to have with Democrats because he believes voters care more about national security than civil liberties.
I'm willing to bet that Tony Snow is somehow directly responsible for delivering a wake-up call to President Bush on the illegal immigration issue.
"which has helped more than 11 million illegal immigrants to slip into the US in recent years. "
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Note the lies -- they are trying to make is sound, as if the 11 million illegals who are in the country today all came since Bush has been president.
More proof, that the MSM is trying to use the illegal immigration issue to turn conservatives against President Bush.
If he does nothing, he's ignoring the issue. If he does something he's pandering. No pleasing the Media.
President Bush and his White House team are insulting the intelligence of the people of the world with this ploy. They fully deserve scorn for opening insulting us all.
Move to Europe, then. (Oh wait, they have their own immigration problems.)
President Bush has done a lot, but all that is being ignored by the MSM AND the conservatives.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/immigration/
Securing Our Border
President Bush Is Taking Action To Increase The Manpower, Technology, And Infrastructure Needed To Secure The Nation's Border. Since President Bush took office, funding for border security has increased by 66 percent. The Border Patrol has been expanded to more than 12,000 agents, an increase of more than 2,700 agents, or nearly 30 percent. The President's FY07 budget funds another 1,500 new agents. Agents are being provided with cutting-edge technology like infrared cameras, advanced motion sensors, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Protective infrastructure, such as vehicle barriers and fencing in urban areas, is being installed. Manpower, technology, and infrastructure are being integrated in more coordinated ways than ever before.
The Administration's Border Security Strategy Is Getting Results. Since President Bush took office, agents have apprehended and sent home more than 6 million people entering the country illegally - including more than 400,000 with criminal records. Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement are working together. More than 600,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended through the Arizona Border Control Initiative last year - an increase of more than 50 percent over the previous year. The men and women of our Border Patrol have made good progress - but we have much more work ahead, and we will not be satisfied until our agents have full control of our border.
The Administration Is Ending The Practice Of "Catch-And-Release." The President has set a goal to end "catch-and-release" over the next year. Most illegal immigrants from Mexico can be returned to Mexico within 24 hours. Non-Mexican illegal immigrants present a different challenge. For decades, government detention facilities did not have enough beds for the non-Mexican illegal immigrants caught at the border - so most were released back into society. They were each assigned a court date, but virtually no one showed up. The Administration is ending the practice of "catch-and-release" by increasing the number of beds in detention facilities by 12 percent this year; the President's FY07 budget proposes increasing that number by another 32 percent. The Administration is expanding the use of "expedited removal," which allows us to send non-Mexican illegal immigrants home more quickly.
We Are Making Progress In This Effort. Last year, it took an average of 66 days to process a non-Mexican illegal immigrant. Now, the process is taking only 21 days. This has helped us end "catch-and-release" for illegal immigrants from Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua caught crossing our Southwest border. Since last summer, the total number of non-Mexican illegal immigrants released into society has been cut by more than a third. There is more work ahead, and the Administration will work with Congress to close loopholes that make it difficult to process illegal immigrants from certain countries and will continue pressing foreign governments like China to take back their citizens who enter our country illegally.
Strengthening Enforcement Of Immigration Laws In America's Interior
The President Is Providing Resources To Strengthen Enforcement Of Immigration Laws. Since President Bush took office, funding for immigration enforcement has increased by 42 percent. These resources have helped agents bring to justice smugglers, terrorists, gang members, and human traffickers. For example, through Operation Community Shield, Federal agents have arrested nearly 2,300 gang members who were in America illegally, including violent criminals like the members of the "MS-13" gang.
Better Interior Enforcement Requires Better Worksite Enforcement. Last year, President Bush signed legislation to more than double the resources dedicated to worksite enforcement. We are working to hold businesses accountable and crack down on document forgery. Next month, the Administration will launch new law enforcement task forces in 11 cities to dismantle document fraud rings.
WASHINGTON - Mexican President Vicente Fox telephoned President Bush on Sunday to discuss comprehensive immigration reform as members of Congress expressed concern that using National Guard troops to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the border would further burden an overextended military.
The criticism on the eve of Bush's planned Oval Office speech to the nation on immigration came from Democrats, but also an important Republican negotiator in the immigration debate — Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska. He said National Guard troops cannot secure the border over the long term and that he does not think it is wise even in the short term.
This being the case, he certainly has nothing to lose in enacting a tough border enforcement policy.
If he does nothing in this speech but continue to infuriate his base and make the marxist media and Mexican oligarchs smile, it will effectively end the Bush presidency.
It didn't have to be that way. If he were commited to enforcing the law, it's a given that he's doing the right thing. Unfortunately, he blew that opportunity.
It would be a lot of help, because they are going to do the office work so more agents with authority to arrest illegals can be working on the actual borders.
Even if another 1000 people who have authority to arrest people at the border are there, it does make a difference IMO.
To appease the right or to protect the country?
No, they don't.
What we need is a wall/fence, more border patrol and civilian contractor support to the border patrol.
They are plannign to deploy the NG in a SUPPORTING role to the BP. Deploying the National Guard is a waste of their talent -- they are needed more elsewhere and they shouldn't be used to do things that anyone else could do, i.e. civilian contractors.
Do you have a problem with a wall/fence, increased number of border patrol and civilian support to the border patrol?
I refer you to my post 7, enumerating all the President Bush HAS done.
He hasn't even laid out the specifics yet and you're calling it a ploy? In other words, you're just here to bash Bush and all his attempts and not here to get involved in a constructive approach.
Even if he doubles enforcement up to 4, that's hundreds fewer than Clinton.
Don't let Bush get away with this.
He will castrate the guard just like the border patrol has been.
A fence and volunteer citizen patrols is the only thing that will work.
These guys are idiots in the PRESS with regard to border security!
If they want open borders than any illegal aliens must go to live in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts and not be allowed to move any other place in the country!
A good place for the illegal aliens to relocate is to Martha's Vineyard!
This article is a un-informed opinion - not news. (Not a critism of you, by any means :) )
Hey it's UK media. I won't even admit my ancestors came from the UK anymore.
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