George W. Bush on Immigration (A Man that Delivers on what he Says)

issues2000 ^ | 2006(updated) | issues 2000

[catholicfreeper]

George W. Bush on Immigration President of the United States, Former Republican Governor (TX)

Our economy could not function without the immigrants We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy, even though this economy could not function without them. All these are forms of economic retreat, and they lead in the same direction, toward a stagnant and second-rate economy. Source: 2006 State of the Union Address Jan 31, 2006

Support a humane guest-worker program that rejects amnesty Keeping America competitive requires an immigration system that upholds our laws, reflects our values and serves the interests of our economy. Our nation needs orderly and secure borders. To meet this goal, we must have stronger immigration enforcement and border protection. And we must have a rational, humane guest-worker program that rejects amnesty, allows temporary jobs for people who seek them legally and reduces smuggling and crime at the border. Source: 2006 State of the Union Address Jan 31, 2006

It's time to permit temporary guest workers America's immigration system is outdated, unsuited to the needs of our economy and to the values of our country. We should not be content with laws that punish hardworking people and deny businesses willing workers and invite chaos at our border. It is time for an immigration policy that permits temporary guest workers to fill jobs Americans will not take, that rejects amnesty, that tells us who is entering and leaving our country, and that closes the border to drug dealers and terrorists. Source: 2005 State of the Union Speech Feb 2, 2005

Temporary workers ok, but no amnesty Q: What should we do about the 8,000 people cross our borders illegally every day? BUSH: We're increasing the border security of the US. There ought to be a temporary worker card that allows a willing worker and a willing employer, so long as there's not an American willing to do that job, to join up. I don't believe we ought to have amnesty. I don't think we ought to reward illegal behavior. There are plenty of people standing in line to become a citizen. If they want to become a citizen, they can stand in line, too. And here is where my opponent and I differ. In September 2003, he supported amnesty for illegal aliens.

KERRY: We need a guest-worker program. We need is to crack down on illegal hiring. And thirdly, we need an earned-legalization program for people who have been here for a long time, stayed out of trouble, got a job, paid their taxes, and their kids are American. We got to start moving them toward full citizenship, out of the shadows.

Source: Third Bush-Kerry Debate, in Tempe Arizona Oct 13, 2004

A time-limited worker card for the illegal immigrants Q: At least 8,000 people cross our borders illegally every day. How do you see it? And what do we need to do about it? A: We're increasing the border security of the US. We've got 1,000 more Border Patrol agents on the southern border. We're using new equipment. We're using unmanned vehicles to spot people coming across. We'll continue to do so over the next four years. They're coming here to work. In order to take pressure off the borders, in order to make the borders more secure, there ought to be a temporary worker card that allows a willing worker and a willing employer to mate up, so long as there's not an American willing to do that job, to join up in order to be able to fulfill the employers' needs. It makes sure that the people coming across the border are humanely treated, that they're not kept in the shadows of our society, that they're able to go back and forth to see their families. The card it'll have a period of time attached to it. It also means it takes pressure off the border.

Source: Third Bush-Kerry debate, in Tempe AZ Oct 13, 2004

Don't believe we ought to have amnesty BUSH: I don't believe we ought to have amnesty. I don't think we ought to reward illegal behavior. There are plenty of people standing in line to become a citizen. And we ought not to crowd these people ahead of them in line. If they want to become a citizen, they can stand in line, too. Kerry supported amnesty for illegal aliens. KERRY: The borders are more leaking today than they were before 9/11. We haven't done what we need to do to toughen up our borders, and I will. We need a guest-worker program, but if it's all we have, it's not going to solve the problem. We need to crack down on illegal hiring. It's against the law in the US to hire people illegally, and we ought to be enforcing that law properly. We need an earned-legalization program for people who have been here for a long time, stayed out of trouble, got a job, paid their taxes, and their kids are American. We got to start moving them toward full citizenship, out of the shadows.

Source: Third Bush-Kerry debate, in Tempe AZ Oct 13, 2004

Support temporary worker program but oppose amnesty I ask Congress to reform our immigration laws so they reflect our values and benefit our economy. I propose a new temporary-worker program to match willing foreign workers with willing employers when no Americans can be found to fill the job. This reform will be good for our economy, because employers will find needed workers in an honest and orderly system. A temporary-worker program will help protect our homeland, allowing border patrol and law enforcement to focus on true threats to our national security. I oppose amnesty, because it would encourage further illegal immigration and unfairly reward those who break our laws. My temporary-worker program will preserve the citizenship path for those who respect the law, while bringing millions of hardworking men and women out from the shadows of American life.

Source: 2004 State of the Union address to joint session of Congress Jan 20, 2004

New temporary worker program includes illegal aliens President Bush, saying the nation has failed millions of illegal immigrants who live in fear of deportation, yesterday proposed an ambitious plan that would allow undocumented workers to legally hold jobs in the US for the first time. The program that would bestow temporary legal status for at least 6 years on 8 million undocumented immigrants, as long as they keep their jobs. But it would not automatically put them on a path to obtaining citizenship or even permanent resident status. "We must make our immigration laws more rational, and more humane," Bush told 200 Latino supporters attending his first White House announcement of the election year. "I believe we can do so without jeopardizing the livelihoods of American citizens." What Bush calls his "temporary worker" program was eagerly embraced by business groups but condemned as stingy and impractical by advocates for immigrants. Many said it has little chance of passing Congress in the form Bush described.

Source: Mike Allen, Washington Post, p. A1 Jan 8, 2004

Mexico: immigration reform in exchange for oil development Bush envisioned a Mexican border open to labor, to trade, and open to investment-especially investment in energy. Mexico had banned foreign investment in its energy industry in 1938, and ever since, Mexican oil production has been controlled by the creaky, corrupt, and polluting state monopoly, Pemex. If Mexico opened itself to the exploration and development of its oil resources by American entrepreneurs & technology, Mexican oil might possibly displace Arab oil from the US market altogether. For this energy "quid," Mexico would of course demand some equally valuable "quo"-and in Bush's mind that "quo" was immigration reform. Bush believed that immigration was valuable to the US and praised it again and again in public speeches and his private conversations.

So the Bush administration designed a system for regularizing the Mexican-US labor relationship-not an amnesty like that of 1986, but a grander system for enabling Mexicans to work in the US temporarily and then to go home again.

Source: The Right Man, by David Frum, p. 84-85 Jun 1, 2003

Respect other languages, but teach all children English Q: Should English be made the country’s official language? A: The ability to speak English is the key to success in America. I support a concept I call English-plus, insisting on English proficiency but recognizing the invaluable richness that other languages and cultures brings to our nation of immigrants. In Texas, the Spanish language enhances and helps define our state’s history. My fundamental priority is results. Whether a school uses an immersion program or a bilingual program, whichever effectively teaches children to read and comprehend English as quickly as possible, I will support. The standard is English literacy and the goal is equal opportunity - all in an atmosphere where every heritage is respected and celebrated.

Source: Associated Press Nov 1, 2000

$500M to cut INS application time to 6 months Expanding on a proposal to improve the INS, Bush pledged $500 million in new spending yesterday to cut the time needed to process an immigration application to an average of six months. Bush said the process now takes three to five years. Late last year, the INS announced that average times had been reduced from two years to 12 months, and were headed lower. ’’We will bring to the INS a new standard of service and a culture of respect,’’ Bush said. The new spending, to be doled out over five years, is the latest part of an INS overhaul plan that Bush’s campaign believes will resonate with Latino voters. ‘’We’ve got an INS that is too bureaucratic, too stuck in the past,’’ he said.

Last week, Bush announced that he wants to split the INS into two agencies: one for legitimate immigrants and one for border enforcement. He also proposed allowing relatives of permanent residents to visit the US while their own immigration papers are being processed.

Source: Paul Shepard, Associated Press, in Boston Globe, page A12 Jul 6, 2000

Welcome Latinos; immigration is not a problem to be solved Latinos come to the US to seek the same dreams that have inspired millions of others: they want a better life for their children. Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande. Latinos enrich our country with faith in God, a strong ethic of work, community & responsibility. We can all learn from the strength, solidarity, & values of Latinos. Immigration is not a problem to be solved, it is the sign of a successful nation. New Americans are to be welcomed as neighbors and not to be feared as strangers. Source: Speech in Washington, D.C. Jun 26, 2000

Make INS more “immigrant friendly” Bush [would] divide the INS into two agencies: one to deal with the enforcement components of border protection and interior enforcement, and another to deal with the service components of naturalization. Bush will change the INS policy so that spouses & minor children of permanent residents can apply for visitor visas while their immigration applications are pending. He will reverse the presumption that such family members will violate their terms of admission, and will encourage family reunification. Source: Speech in Washington, D.C. Jun 26, 2000

High tech: More H-1B worker visas; less export controls Supports meaningful, broad-based tort reform to protect our most innovative companies from frivolous and junk lawsuits Supports lifting the current limit on H-1B visas; believes long term solution to the shortage of high tech workers is education Called for reforming the high tech export control system by allowing American companies to sell products in the international marketplace when these products are readily available in foreign or mass markets Source: GeorgeWBush.com: ‘Issues: Policy Points Overview’ Apr 2, 2000

Farm policy: Open markets abroad; more H-2A worker visas Calls upon European Union to abide by the rules of the World Trade Organization and allow importation of genetically modified farm products Would work aggressively to open markets for U.S. products and producers Supports reviewing and expanding the H-2A temporary agriculture workers program so that willing workers can provide much needed help to America’s farmers Source: GeorgeWBush.com: ‘Issues: Policy Points Overview’ Apr 2, 2000

Latinos enrich us; family values go past Rio Grande Latinos have come to the US to seek the same dreams that have inspired millions of others: they want a better life for their children. Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande River. Latinos enrich our country with faith in God, a strong ethic of work and community and responsibility. Immigration is not a problem to be solved; it is the sign of a successful nation. New Americans are not to be feared as strangers; they are to be welcomed as neighbors. Source: Reforming the INS, in “Renewing America’s Purpose” Feb 9, 2000

More border guards to compassionately turn away Mexicans We must do a better job of stopping those who seek to come into our country illegally. I support strict border enforcement programs such as Operation Hold the Line, which concentrate border patrol officers and resources at known border-crossing points. I believe it is far more compassionate to turn away people at the border than to attempt to find and arrest them once they are living in our country illegally. Source: “A Charge to Keep”, p.237. Dec 9, 1999

Guest workers, maybe; citizenship waiting period, yes Bush pledged to revisit guest worker programs and other ways for immigrants to come into the country, but said he would insist on immigration controls and a waiting period before citizenship. Source: Mike Glover, Associated Press Aug 6, 1999

[catholicfreeper]

Of course what the President said doesnt mean that they have to go home either.

[investigateworld]

Thanks.
One last question if I may.
What benefit is it to the Republican Party to allow 12 million new voters, the vast majority of whom will vote Democrat, onto the rolls?

[skeeter]

Of course what the President said doesnt mean that they have to go home either.

Then you'd agree he was being intentionally deceptive.

[catholicfreeper]

I will note one irony in all this debate that you are referencing. Leaving aside that Bush does not discuss in detail what Kerry means by amenesy(if you have been 5 years your'are in period). Noticed something. Kerry is actually a little tougher on the requirements. He is consistant that those people must have kids that are "American" Now if Kerry really meant that to be a die hard requirement well who knows. But Bush doesnt give that qualification

[savedbygrace]

What a silly argument. You're saying that if we voted for him even though he published his immigration policy in 2000 and again in 2004, that we have no standing or moral right to oppose him on this very position?

We have not elected an emperor, toby. If you prefer a form of government with such a ruler, there are a number of countries you would feel far more comfortable submitting yourself to. Not this one, though.

[deport]

interesting excerpts, quotes from the President.

[catholicfreeper]

wow ingnore that last quote I gave you that came from Kerry let me give the right one

[muawiyah]

The economy was doing quite well when there were but 265,000,000 people (1996). That's 35,000,000 fewer than today's 300,000,000.

If the 12 to 20 million illegal aliens were but gently returned to their OWN COUNTRIES, we wouldn't feel the difference.

[Regulator]

But I had no idea granting them amnesty would be the single most important issue for him outside the WOT and that he would pursue such a policy with such dogged determination and to the detriment of his entire party

Isn't it amazing?

Gosh, whatever happened to Abortion, too much spending, way too much taxation, way too much debt, the expansion of the government, creeping socialism, the end of affirmative action....the things people vote for Republicans on.

Nope. The most important thing is....something that is tearing the Republican party apart, and which could be simply solved by saying "well, that's the law" - and then enforcing it.

It really isn't any more complicated than that.

[jerry639]

When a large majority of U.S. of A. citizens are against citizenship for illegals the argument for citizenship is mute. It is about what the American citizens want. Not what President Bush, Senators Kennedy and McCain want.

[Lurker]

You are of course quite correct. That one really pisses me off. The other one that chaps my hide is that 'jobs Americans won't do' horsecrap.

There are no jobs Americans won't do for a decent wage. I asked someone on this thread to name me three of these mythical jobs we won't do and I still haven't heard back from him or her.

But it's kind of hard to demand a decent wage when there are 11 to 15 million illegal aliens depressing the wage market for lawful US workers. Not to mention the large number of felonious employers exploiting these people and stealing from the US Treasury by not paying into SS, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment Compensation Insurance pools, etc etc.

Oh well, we've got our work cut out for us now. It's time to make sure this horrible Senate bill dies in the conference committee and never again sees the light of day.

L

[muawiyah]

Worst thing for "W" to do at this moment is to ignore my claim that there are "jobs Mexicans won't do", and mostly right there in Mexico.

He needs to worry about getting some Americans in there to set things straight.

I have a proposal for what my detractors ridicule as a "puppet buffer state" involving the Mexican states that border the US, but it's much more complex than that.

This is something the 82nd Airborne could do for us in just a few days time ~ long overdue in fact ~ Winfield Scott should not have withdrawn!

[William Terrell]

If a man promises Balkanization, destruction of the sovereignty of a discrete nation, expansion of welfare and entitlement programs, and does it, he in fact delivers on what he says.

Trouble is. . .

[catholicfreeper]

What happens when all the baby boomers die off. It seems the problem in the West including Mexico is birthrates in decline not population explosions

[Lurker]

**rueful chuckle**

Nailed it WT.

L

[Plutarch]

I will note one irony in all this debate that you are referencing.

I note that you could find no evidence of Bush being A Man that Delivers on what he Says in the all-important 2004 Debate.

Thus Bush is proven to have mislead us, and the premise of your post is thereby false.

[Xenophon450]

"Our economy could not function without the immigrants"

I will assume by Immigrant they mean't ILLEGALS, I admire they're sidestepping...no not really. I suppose you forgot the day without an illegal. Yeah that day the day the stock market crashed and everyone had to pay 20 dollars for cabbage or a big mac...oh I forgot that never happened....

[Annie5622]

I'd give a dollar for everytime I read "lesser of two evils". Sad that some people can't tell the difference between evil and honarable. But, I guess it doesn't suit their agenda to point out the difference.

[skeeter]

Look how fast he folded on SSI reform, for cryin out loud.