I don't defend him on illegal immigration, but I also don't nitpick his every word. I generally take him at his word even if I disagree with him. So I probably can't answer your question. Others here probably will though.
Actually the above post comments on that. I have to admit I can see confusion. For whatever reason this issue had not hit the hot burner during the electionlike it has now so the press was not aggressive.
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
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
Well the rest of quotes are above. Kerry During the Democrat primary and I think there is a link on the main page to his views stated that he
would
""Amnesty to anyone here over 5 or 6 years Q: Would you support legalizing undocumented immigrants in this country? KERRY: Absolutely. I supported and was prepared to vote for amnesty from 1986. And it is essential to have immigration reform. Anyone who has been in this country for five or six years, who's paid their taxes, who has stayed out of trouble, ought to be able to translate into an American citizenship immediately, not waiting.
Source: Democratic Primary Debate, Albuquerque New Mexico Sep 4, 2003 "
Now when Bush say that Kerry is support amnesty this what he is referring too that is "Anyone who has been in this country for five or six years, who's paid their taxes, who has stayed out of trouble, ought to be able to translate into an American citizenship immediately, not waiting.
He wants one hemisphere, free trade, and travel a la the EU. That's it in a nutshell, and the thinking in DC is that a few potholes in the road to the paradise of One Hemisphere are to be expected. Loss of sovereignty, culture,language, betrayal of the US citizenry, rampant drug trade, gangs, violence, burden of educating, feeding, tending everyone in the world being just a few. You know what they say about the road to hell? Bush's good intentions and big business's greed have paved the way. This will never work because, among other things, they never took into account other cultures, mores, etc.. And nobody seemed to care that we were inventing a new slave class. Immoral? Illegal? Unethical? Who cares. It's for the common good. Sound familiar?
They tried to shove NAFTA, etc. down the southern hemisphere's throat and it didn't work. So import the whole bunch up here willy nilly, turn them all into Americans. They kept the full plan more or less under wraps because the other countries would be insulted. It's not pleasant to read in the papers that you're a third world country, which they are. So rather than have an honest dialogue with the US voters, he chose up sides and we lost. There's nothing more dangerous than a fanatic, and for Bush and his pals in the CFR, that's what this is, a belief that borders on fanaticism. The dems have other aims in mind, but intend to go down the same road. Only faster.