Posted on 05/20/2006 2:17:00 PM PDT by Dubya
WASHINGTON — President Bush urged Congress today to find a middle ground between mass deportation or instant U.S. citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already living in America.
Bush's radio message was the third time this week he has spoken out about immigration.
On Monday, in a televised address from the Oval Office, Bush said he would order as many as 6,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, and urged Congress to give millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship.
Bush said the National Guard troops would fill in temporarily while the nation's Border Patrol is expanded. He asked Congress to add 6,000 more Border Patrol agents by the end of his presidency and add 6,700 more beds so illegal immigrants can be detained while waiting for hearings.
However, Homeland Security Department Inspector General Richard L. Skinner said in a report Friday that the administration hadn't budgeted enough, and that it will take nearly 35,000 more jail beds to detain all high-risk aliens.
"This week I asked Congress to provide funding for dramatic improvements in manpower and technology at the border," Bush said Saturday. "We'll hire thousands more Border Patrol agents. And to help these agents do their jobs, we will deploy advanced technologies such as high-tech fences in urban areas, infrared cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles."
Many congressional Republicans said they supported Bush's plan to use National Guard troops at the border. But he ran into criticism from some border state governors, Democrats and some other Republicans.
In the Democratic radio response, Rep. Mike Honda of California said Bush should denounce the approach of House Republicans, who won passage of a tough immigration bill that would erect fences along the Mexican border and treat people who sneak across as felons to be deported.
"The president's public relations campaign won't get the job done," Honda said about the proposals the president announced Monday. "As the Senate continues to consider comprehensive immigration reform, the president needs to stand up to the far right, and take a stand on the details of the bill before them."
On Thursday, the president traveled to Arizona to tour an unfortified section of the border in the desert. He endorsed using fences and other barriers to cut down on illegal crossings. The Senate on Wednesday voted to put 370 miles of fences on the border.
"To secure our border we must create a temporary worker program that provides foreign workers a legal and orderly way to enter our country for a limited period of time," Bush said.
Bush wants an immigration bill that pairs up better security on the border with a guest worker program.
He faces opposition from conservative Republicans, particularly in the House, who prefer a get-tough approach and largely oppose a guest worker program — something they view as giving amnesty to criminals.
The Senate, meanwhile, is working on broad legislation that largely answers Bush's call. It includes measures to tighten control of the borders, creates a guest worker program and offers a path to citizenship to many, but not all, illegal immigrants in the nation.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., an ardent opponent of the Senate bill, conceded Friday that the measure is likely to pass next week. "The Senate should be ashamed of itself," he said. But he also predicted that it won't become law unless House and Senate negotiators rewrite it.
In addition to a guest worker program, Bush said employers need to be held accountable for the workers they hire by creating a better system for verifying documents and work eligibility. The president said the system should include a tamperproof identification card for every legal foreign worker.
"The card would help us enforce the law and leave employers with no excuse for breaking it," he said. "And by making it harder for illegal immigrants to find work in our country, we would discourage people from crossing the border illegally in the first place."
That doesn't, however, resolve the status of millions of illegal immigrants already living in America. Bush said they should not be given an automatic path to citizenship.
"This is amnesty, and I oppose it," he said.
But the nation needs to provide a way for illegals to stay, he said.
"Illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty, pay their taxes, learn English and work in a job for a number of years," Bush said.
I can't state it any better than this freeper.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1633206/posts?page=17#17
And now I have to leave for a party and will let the border hysterics thread jump to their heart's content.
Have a nice retreat.
"hysterics"
The OBLs like pass along to one another books, like Dale Carnegie's: 'How To Win Friends and Influence People',
but are often disappointed to find that there are no pictures, or they have already been `colored-in.'
He always defends himself by how much of our money he's spending.
They hate having their bluffs called.
Is everyone aware that right now Mexicans can already get Social Security income when they reach 55? Any mexican who has worked in this country and had SS withheld can apply for their benefits even if they are back in Mexico. Its a reciprocal treaty with most industrial countries which allows earned social programs to pay out to citizens or non-citizens in any country.
For the solvency of Social Security, we could actually use another 12,000,000 workers paying into it. But since its a ponzo scheme, its just pushing off the disaster a few more years.
There is also a broad consensus among the American people that have their eyes open and realize what he's up against and doing the best he can.
If you think you can do better then let's see your name on the Presidential ballot instead of always being a Monday morning quarterback.
It has nothing to do with my ability to lead the nation or not. It's just taking a look at the political landscape and seeing how well he is doing.
He isn't doing well, and that's true whether I would be better at it than him or not.
He is the tax credit king, so it is more than likely.
Those using stolen SS#'s won't get credit, that will benefit the person who the SS # belongs too.
I find it hard to believe a Mexican can get SS at 55 yrs old since the earliest an American can get it is 62 yrs old and that's at a reduced rate.
Where does your information come from?
"The president has supported building a wall for over a year now, so if you have problems with the fact that a wall hasn't been built, take it up with Congress. He supported Sensenbrenner's suggestion to build a 700 mile wall, but Congress rejected it. Bush even signed legislation which funded the wall.
"
Peach, he's NEVER supported a wall until his butt started getting burned. I don't know what your agenda is in attempting to cover up for Bush but you're on the losing side legally, intellectually and morally. Bush has supported the illegal invasion for years by his inaction. Eventually he's either going to have to live up to his oath of office or turn the country over to hordes of illegal alien invaders. You're a flat out traitor to this country and it's lawful, legal citizens.
Bush signed the treaty back in 2001. We have the same treaty with virtually all European countries as well. But I would dispute the certainty that people whose SS#s are unlawfully used will still get the benefit. If the Socialists in the Senate have their way, they will be working harder to ensure illegals get 'what they paid for' than they will to ensure that you and I aren't getting ripped off by illegals.
I'm really tired of hearing him speak on this issue. Every time he does he kills whatever little affection I have for him remaining.
The Middle ground is Enforcement First, THEN we'll talk after you've earned some trust.
Get that through your head Mr. President.
You are no longer trustworthy. Not on this issue. Not when you practice Clintonian speech on the definition of amnesty. If you cared about our trust, you wouldn't have inferred racism or "anti immigrant" as a cause for the outpouring against it. You would understand why we don't trust the Government to act on enforcement. And they'd be willing to prove yourself on the issue first.
While running for President, Bush proposed a temporary worker program that illegals would need enter, and from this group some could apply for citizenship. Now, I believe it works that any human who can prove his illegality by producing a utility bill is granted legal status, permanent residence, and welfare goodies, and if he wants to be a citizen then a few paltry hurdles (that will be dropped as soon as possible) are placed in his way
You cut what the president said off in mid-sentence and you falsely put a "period" where a comma and the remainder of the sentence should be.
You left off;
So what.
Anybody can apply for a green card. People not in the "temporary" workers program can apply. So why can't people in the "temporary" program apply?
It's the getting of a green card that's hard.
The temporaries must still go to the back of the quota line and they must wait like anybody else before they get a green card.
Day one? Not the end of the line?
Document that.
Actually, you receive SSI in your home country just as if you were a US citizen. The rules don't actually change based upon your citizen (which now seems absurd since we are talking about people who illegally were working and paying into the system). The treaty was signed pre-9/11. It was mostly a formally and was done back when Bush was still optimistic that Fox wasn't going to be a complete tool.
I'm not in my native country. I'm here in CA and am now an American citizen. When I'm old enough and if there's still SS to draw I will receive a reduced American amount then it will be made to the full amount by my UK SS. But the minimum age is still 62 yrs old, not 55 yrs old. It's not a free giveaway as you were indicating.
http://www.goodolddogs3.com/HonorOurVets.html
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