Free Republic

As Congress headed back Monday from a two-week recess, President Bush was in the country's most immigrant-rich state to push a stalled bill that would allow more foreigners to work legally in the United States. Lawmakers, with an eye on Election Day in just over six months, remain far apart on whether to crack down on illegal immigrants or embrace them as vital contributors to the U.S. economy. Bush wants a law that would give temporary guest worker permits to foreigners in low-paying jobs while strengthening border security. He was to push his idea in a speech Monday in Irvine,...

US President George W. Bush has warned rising oil prices will mean a "tough summer" for US consumers as the high cost of gasoline (petrol) showed signs of becoming a big political issue. But even as more Americans expressed discontent over the price of filling up their gas tanks, Bush suggested there was little his government could do in the short term about the problem. "We're going to have a tough summer because people are beginning to drive now during tight supply," Bush said as he toured a California facility developing hydrogen-powered vehicles. "The American people have got to understand...

President Bush will land in a hotbed of the illegal-immigration debate Monday when he flies into Orange County, and he's likely to find a tough sell for his approach. Bush's call for a guest-worker program has riled many who say that the international borders must be secured before normalizing the status of any of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. When Bush stands up at the Hyatt Regency Irvine to pitch his views on immigration to the Orange County Business Council, some will applaud his decision to talk here - if not what he's pushing. "I'd...