    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [December 3, 2005]
    [Pages 1803-1804]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    December 3, 2005

        Good morning. Earlier this week, I visited Arizona and Texas to
    observe firsthand our efforts to protect our Southwest border. And I met
    with customs and border protection agents who are working tirelessly to
    enforce our laws and keep our borders secure.
        Illegal immigration and border security are issues that concern
    Americans. We're a nation built on the rule of law, and those who enter
    the country illegally break the law. In communities near our border,
    illegal immigration strains the resources of schools, hospitals, and law
    enforcement. And it involves smugglers and gangs that bring crime to our
    neighborhoods. Faced with this serious challenge, our government's
    responsibility is clear: We're going to protect our borders.
        Since I took office, we've increased funding for border security by
    60 percent, and our border agents have caught and sent home more than
    4.5 million illegal immigrants, including more than 350,000 with
    criminal records. Yet we must do more to build on this progress.

        This week I outlined my comprehensive strategy to reform our
    immigration system. The strategy begins with a three-part plan to
    protect our borders. First, we will promptly return every illegal
    entrant we catch at our border with no exceptions. For illegal
    immigrants from Mexico, we are working to expand an innovative program
    called interior repatriation, in which those caught at the border are
    returned to their hometowns far from the border, making it more
    difficult for them to attempt another crossing. For non-Mexican illegal
    immigrants, we're changing the unwise policy of catch-and-release to a
    policy of catch-

    [[Page 1804]]

    and-return, and we're speeding up the removal process.
        Second, we must fix weak and unnecessary provisions in our
    immigration laws, including senseless rules that require us to release
    illegal immigrants if their home countries do not take them back in a
    set period of time.
        Third, we must stop people from crossing the border illegally in the
    first place. So we're hiring thousands more Border Patrol agents. We're
    deploying new technology to expand their reach and effectiveness, and
    we're constructing physical barriers to entry.
        Comprehensive immigration reform also requires us to improve
    enforcement of our laws in the interior of our country, because border
    security and interior enforcement go hand in hand. In October, I signed
    legislation that more than doubled the resources for interior
    enforcement, so we'll increase the number of immigration enforcement
    agents and criminal investigators, enhance worksite enforcement, and
    continue to go after smugglers, gang members, and human traffickers. Our
    immigration laws apply across all of America, and we will enforce those
    laws throughout our land.
        Finally, comprehensive immigration reform requires us to create a
    new temporary-worker program that relieves pressure on the border but
    rejects amnesty. By creating a legal channel for willing employers to
    hire willing workers, we will reduce the number of workers trying to
    sneak across the border, and that would free up law enforcement officers
    to focus on criminals, drug dealers, terrorists, and others who mean us
    harm.
        This program would not create an automatic path to citizenship, and
    it would not provide amnesty. I oppose amnesty. Rewarding lawbreakers
    would encourage others to break the law and keep pressure on our border.
    A temporary-worker program will relieve pressure on the border and help
    us more effectively enforce our immigration laws.
        Our Nation has been strengthened by generations of immigrants who
    became Americans through patience, hard work, and assimilation. In this
    new century, we must continue to welcome legal immigrants and help them
    learn the customs and values that unite all Americans, including liberty
    and civic responsibility, equality under God, tolerance for others, and
    the English language. In the coming months, I look forward to working
    with Congress on comprehensive immigration reform that will enforce our
    laws, secure our border, and uphold our deepest values.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:03 a.m. on December 2 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on December 3. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    December 2 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.