    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [June 6, 2006]
    [Pages 1076-1084]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Immigration Reform and a Swearing-In Ceremony for W. Ralph
    Basham as Commissioner of Customs and Border
    Protection in Artesia, New Mexico
    June 6, 2006

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Pete, thanks for your kind words, and thanks for your
    leadership. New Mexico has got a fine senior Senator in Pete Domenici.
    All he talks about is New Mexico when I'm with him. Now I'm afraid all
    he's going to talk about is FLETC. [Laughter]
        It's good to be in Artesia. Some people probably think I've never
    heard of Artesia. You forgot I grew up in Midland. Home of the Mighty
    Bulldogs, Artesia is. The land where the sky is big and the people are
    friendly. I knew I was in pretty good country when I saw all the cowboy
    hats, and I think I saw one guy spitting in a can. [Laughter] But I'm
    thrilled to be here, I really am, and I appreciate a chance to be here
    at the Border Patrol Academy,

    [[Page 1077]]

    here at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
        I want to--the reason I'm here is because I want the country to pay
    attention to what you're doing. And I want you to understand, those of
    you who are training to become Border Patrol agents and those of you who
    are training the trainees, I want you to understand that I really
    appreciate your contribution to the United States of America, and so do
    the American people.
        What you're learning to do here is important. It's important for the
    security of our Nation. And I want to thank you for volunteering. At
    this academy, new agents undergo 19 weeks of training, and by the looks
    of it, it isn't all that easy. It's practical experience. It's the kind
    of experience that's going to put you in pretty good stead when it comes
    to doing the job that we expect you to do.
        You're taking courses in counterterrorism and immigration law.
    You're taking courses in antidrug trafficking and firearms. You're
    taking courses in motor vehicle operations. And for those of you who
    don't know how to speak Spanish, you're learning how to speak Spanish.
    Those are all very important parts of your training.
        Look, I'm not here to give you a lecture, but I am here to thank
    you. I want to appreciate what you're doing; I appreciate your service.
    I look forward to seeing you out there on the border doing the job we
    expect you to do. And in a little while, I'm going to tell you, you
    expect something from us too. But the first thing you can expect is the
    full support of the Federal Government, and you have it.
        I appreciate--[applause]--Pete Domenici is keeping pretty good company today with Senator Jeff
    Bingaman. It's good to see
    the Senator. Thanks for coming. I'm proud you're here as well. I flew
    down with two Members of the United States Congress, Congressman
    Tom Udall--he's from the northern part of the
    State--and Congressman Steve Pearce--he's here
    from the eastern part of New Mexico. It's good to see you all. Pearce
    has got that umbrella up because he's bald-headed. [Laughter] He's also
    a fine Congressman.
        I want to thank the Governor of the great State of New Mexico,
    Governor Bill Richardson. Governor, I'm
    proud you're here. Thank you for taking the time. I know what it's like
    to be the Governor of a border State. And I know Governor Richardson
    counts on the Federal Government to pass a good piece of legislation
    that will enable him and the people of this State who are working with
    you to do their jobs. And I'm proud you're on the lead of comprehensive
    immigration reform, Bill.
        I want to thank Secretary Mike Chertoff
    for joining us. I want to thank other members of my administration,
    starting with Ralph Basham, who is the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs
    and Border Protection, and his wife, Judy.
    We're fixing to swear Ralph in. Part of this ceremony is for you to
    witness the swearing-in of your boss. I think that's a good way for us
    to make it clear that those of us who are in Washington, DC--in my case,
    on a temporary basis, I want to emphasize--[laughter]--we know you're
    out here, see, and we care about the job you're doing. I thought it made
    sense to swear in the new Commissioner in your presence, as a way of
    making it clear for us to say, he may have an office in Washington, but
    his heart is right here with the Border Patrol agents.
        I appreciate very much Connie Patrick,
    who's the Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. I
    want to thank David Aguilar; he's the Chief
    of the Border Patrol. For those of you fixing to join the Border Patrol,
    you need to know, you've got a Chief who knows what he's talking about.
    See, he did exactly what you've done. Plus, he's a Texan. [Laughter] I
    appreciate Jay Ahern; he's Assistant
    Commissioner of Field Operations for the U.S. Customs and Border
    Protection.
        I just had a tour given to me by Charlie Whitmire. Maybe you've heard of Charlie. [Laughter] He's a no-
    nonsense kind of guy.

    [[Page 1078]]

    See, he's the kind of guy you want running a facility like this. He's
    got one thing in mind, and that is to give you the tools necessary to do
    the job. Whitmire, I appreciate your service, and thanks for your
    leadership. Thanks for the tour.
        I appreciate all the State and local officials who have taken time
    out of your day to come and say hello, and I particularly want to thank
    the mayor, Manuel Madrid, for being here as
    well. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming; proud you're here. Thanks for
    your time.
        Most of all, I want to thank you all, and I want you to thank your
    families on behalf of a grateful nation. You need to tell your wives and
    children, mothers and fathers how much we appreciate what you're doing.
    So you've got my permission to take a little time off this afternoon--
    [laughter]--and let them know. This is a family deal. You're here
    training for a very important mission, a mission that's sometimes
    dangerous. And I understand how important it is to have the support of
    somebody in your house.
        See, I got support from a great lady too, like many of you who are
    married. I'm fortunate to be married to Laura Bush, who sends her very--[applause]--she sends her best to
    all the good folks out here in eastern New Mexico. Her mother is living right across the border, so we stay in touch
    with how people are thinking out here.
        And it's--I can't tell you how--a joy it is to be out here where the
    air is dry and fresh and the people are down-to-earth and decent--people
    who love our country and people who expect us to handle this immigration
    debate with dignity and to get something done. That's what they expect.
    The people of Artesia want something done on the immigration issue, and
    the people all across our country want something done on this important
    issue. So I want to talk to you today about the debate we're having in
    Washington, DC.
        The first thing is, illegal immigration is a serious problem. The
    first thing we got to understand as a country is that illegal
    immigration undermines the rule of law. It creates an underground
    economy. It can danger our national security. And therefore, we need to
    do something about it.
        Illegal immigration makes it tough on local communities. It puts a
    strain on public schools and strains State and local budgets, brings
    crime to some of our communities. And we need to do something about it.
        We've also got to remember this though, during this debate, that
    illegal immigration is a problem, but we need to remember that
    immigrants have been one of the great strengths of the United States of
    America. For generations, immigrants to this country have risked
    everything because of the dream of freedom. And they've assimilated into
    our society. And they've contributed to our economy. And they've
    contributed to the greatness of America. During this debate, this
    important debate on illegal immigration, we've got to remember we're a
    land of immigrants, and therefore, conduct this debate with dignity.
        The United States is a nation of laws, and we're going to enforce
    our laws. We're also a nation of immigrants, and we're going to uphold
    that tradition. And these are not contradictory goals. America can be a
    lawful society, and America will be a welcoming society at the same
    time.
        So I'm going to work with Congress to fix our immigration problems,
    and I'm going to work with Congress to pass a comprehensive bill I can
    pass into law. And we're making progress. I know you're following the
    debate in Washington, but we're making progress toward a comprehensive
    bill.
        When I visited the border last fall, Congress was still debating
    whether to take any action at all. See, last fall there was a doubt as
    to whether or not Congress was going to act on the immigration bill. The
    last time I visited the border last month, the House had passed a bill
    focusing on border security and interior enforcement. Now the

    [[Page 1079]]

    Senate has passed a bill, and it's a more comprehensive approach that
    includes a temporary-worker program and a plan to resolve the status of
    illegal immigrants inside our country. And the next step is for the
    House and the Senate to reconcile its difference and agree on
    legislation that both houses can agree on. And I believe that
    legislation needs to be comprehensive in nature, which I'm going to talk
    about here in a minute.
        I know when you watch your television or listen to the radio, it
    seems like there's nothing but disagreement on immigration policy in
    Washington. Yet there's a growing consensus among all parties and all
    regions of the country that fundamental reforms are needed. In other
    words, people are coming to the conclusion we got to do something about
    a system that isn't working. And while the differences grab the
    headlines, the similarities in approaches are striking.
        We all agree we need to control our borders. There's a common
    agreement that the Federal Government has a responsibility to control
    the borders, so that every illegal immigrant caught at the border needs
    to be sent home. We agree with that. Secondly, we agree that the
    Government needs to crack down on businesses that hire illegal workers.
    In other words, in order to help you do your job, we all agree that if
    someone is hiring somebody who is an illegal immigrant, they've broken
    the law, and we need to crack down on that.
        We all agree we must reduce the incentives for foreign workers to
    cross the border illegally. See, there's agreement on that in
    Washington. We agree that it's unacceptable to have millions of illegal
    immigrants living in our country beyond the reach of law and the
    protection of the law. And we all agree that immigrants to America must
    assimilate into our society. They must embrace our values and learn to
    speak the English language. See, there's common agreement; there's a
    consensus. And we need to act on that broad consensus and deliver
    comprehensive reform that makes our system orderly, secure, and fair.
        We all agree we've got to enforce the borders. Since 2001, I've
    worked with the United States Congress to increase border security
    funding by 66 percent. I want to thank the Members of Congress for
    working on that. Border Patrol has been expanded from about 9,000 agents
    to 12,000 agents, and we're building new infrastructures on the border.
        Federal agents like you have apprehended and sent home about 6
    million people entering America illegally since 2001. It's an amazing
    statistic, isn't it? Most American people have no earthly idea how hard
    our Border Patrol agents are working. Six million people since 2001 have
    been caught trying to come into this country illegally and sent home.
    And that's why I tell you, I'm grateful for your hard work. People are
    doing an outstanding job.
        But we got to make sure that we give you more to secure the border.
    Congress needs to fund dramatic increases in manpower and additional
    technology that will help you build on the successes. See, there's more
    work to be done. We're going to increase the size of the Border Patrol
    by additional 6,000 agents by the end of 2008. You're going to be busy
    here at this facility. See, our goal is to have doubled the Border
    Patrol to about 18,000 Border Patrol agents. That's what they tell me is
    going to work. I said, ``Fine, get it done.'' And your classes here are
    part of that doubling of the Border Patrol. And when these agents that
    are trained here are deploying, we're going to give them what's
    necessary in terms of technology to be able to do their jobs.
        See, we need to add new technologies to the new manpower we're
    training, so we can tell the American people we're doing our best we
    possibly can to secure our border. Americans expect us to secure the
    border. It's an important job of the Federal Government. And so we're
    going

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    to double your size, and we're going to get you new technologies.
        We're going to build high-tech fences in urban corridors. For the
    agents here who've been on the frontlines of enforcing our border, you
    understand how important those high-tech fences are so you can do that
    job. We're going to make sure you got new patrol roads. We can't ask
    these new Border Patrol agents that we're training to do their job and
    not have adequate patrol roads to be able to go up and down the border.
    We're going to build virtual fence that employs motion detectors and
    infrared cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent illegal
    crossings. See, we're going to leverage technology so you can better do
    your job.
        Proposals to boost manpower and upgrade technologies have the
    support of Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate. In
    other words, there's consensus on that. We're going to get this part of
    the job done. And I understand and you understand, it takes time to get
    technology and Border Patrol agents in place.
        The training you do here takes 19 weeks, as it should. We don't want
    to rush you through the academy. See, when we put you on the frontline
    of doing your job, we want you to be as well-trained as you possibly can
    be. That's what your families expect, that's what your Government
    expects, and that's what your trainers want. They want to use their
    skills to give you the skills necessary to do the job.
        But it takes the time, and yet we don't have time to get this border
    enforced. And so therefore, I decided to work with our State Governors,
    Republicans and Democrats, to move 6,000 National Guard troops on the
    border to help the current Border Patrol do the job until the new agents
    are trained. That makes sense to me, doesn't it? If we've got a problem,
    let's address it square on. And if part of the problem is we're waiting
    to get new Border Patrol agents trained, and we can't wait, let's move
    some troops in--National Guard troops that will be able to help those of
    you on the frontlines of securing our border do your job better.
        Guard members are arriving at the border, and they're going to set
    up a headquarters to support Border Patrol operations. You see, you
    notice I said ``support the Border Patrol.'' The Border Patrol is in the
    lead; that's why they're going through significant training. The Border
    Patrol is the primary law enforcement agency on the border. And so the
    Guard units are down there to support your job; they're to make it
    easier for you to do your job. Our Guard units will not be involved in
    direct law enforcement activities. That's not what they're going to go
    down there for. The United States of America will not militarize our
    border. We're going to make sure that the Border Patrol is the--is
    directly involved in law enforcement activities. That's what you're
    trained to do. The Guard is going to free up Border Patrol to focus on
    stopping illegal immigrants coming in. They're going to be building the
    roads, and they're going to be doing the support.
        When I was down in Yuma, I saw the Guard working side by side with
    Border Patrol, and what they're doing is, they're freeing up the Border
    Patrol to be on the frontlines. And I want to thank Governor
    Richardson and Governor Perry and Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor Napolitano
    for working with the Federal Government to prepare the way for the
    arrival of the Guard troops. And as soon as you get the Border Patrol
    agents trained, these Guard troops will be going home. But until that
    time, I want them down here helping you do the job that the American
    people expect us to do.
        We've got to stop catch-and-release. Perhaps the people of Artesia,
    New Mexico, know what I'm talking about; a lot of Americans don't. What
    happens is, these Border Patrol agents work hard; they find somebody
    coming back--coming into our country; they say, ``The rules say you
    check in

    [[Page 1081]]

    with the officer here, in the court; come back in about 20 days when
    we've got time for you to show up,'' and they don't show up. So you've
    got somebody working hard to find somebody, and we let them back out in
    society, and guess what? They disappear. And we're going to end that
    practice.
        Eighty-five percent of the illegal immigrants caught crossing the
    border are Mexican citizens, so they get sent back quickly. Within 24
    hours they're sent back across the country, and that's important for
    people to know; if you get caught, you get sent home. It means it's less
    likely you're going to try to come in, in the first place.
        Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy to send home illegal immigrants
    from other countries, Central American countries, for example, and so
    they were released back into our society. It had to be frustrating for
    you Border Patrol agents who were on the frontlines. You work hard, you
    find somebody who is trying to sneak in from Central America, you do
    your job; next thing you know you hear, ``Oops, they're somewhere in
    society.'' So we're going to end that practice.
        And the way you end it is, you build more detention facilities. See,
    part of the problem was, we didn't have a place to hold these folks. And
    so now I'm working with Congress to increase the number of detention
    facilities along our borders, to make sure that when we catch somebody
    from a place other than Mexico, there's a place to hold them until such
    time as we send them back to their country.
        I'm also talking to leaders of those countries from which these
    people are coming, and I'm saying, ``You have a responsibility to take
    them back as quickly as possible.'' And our mission is to end catch-and-
    release once and for all on the southern border of the United States,
    and we intend to do just that.
        In order to make sure this Border Patrol strategy works, this
    strategy of securing the border, we all agree in Washington that
    employers must be held to account for the workers they hire. I spoke to
    the Chamber of Commerce last week, and I made it clear that the United
    States is not going to tolerate employers who violate our immigration
    laws. See, it's against the law to hire someone who is here illegally.
    That's what the law says. We're a nation of laws, and we expect people
    to abide by the laws.
        Most businesses want to comply with the law; they really do. Most
    people are good, law-abiding citizens who want to comply, but they have
    trouble verifying the legal status of their employees because of
    widespread problem of fake IDs and fraudulent Social Security numbers.
    See, there's a problem here. We got people sneaking into our country,
    and there's a whole document forgery ring supplying them with fake
    documents. And it's hard to expect some small-business person in
    Artesia, New Mexico, to be in a position to be a document checker.
        And the Federal Government can help. So we're working on an
    effective system for verifying work eligibility so the businesses can
    better comply with the law, and then we'll be in a position to say, ``If
    you don't comply with the law, you deserve to be punished. If we catch
    you cheating right now, you'll be punished.'' But we got to make sure
    that small businesses and large businesses have got the capacity to
    verify whether a person is here legally or not.
        Congress needs to give Federal agents the authority they need to
    enforce the law when job applicants submit fraudulent Social Security
    numbers. Congress needs to make it mandatory for employers to check
    information provided by job applicants against Federal databases. Right
    now it's voluntary. In other words, you getting ready to hire somebody,
    you need to check against the Federal database to make sure the numbers
    on the cards aren't forged, are real. But what really Congress needs to
    do is to use a biometric technology to create a new tamper-proof
    identification card for every legal foreign worker. That's

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    what we need; we need a tamper-proof card. It says, if you're here
    legally working, here's your card, and you got to show it. And the
    businessowner has got to call for it. And if they hire somebody without
    the tamper-proof card, they're in violation of the law and will be
    fined.
        We've got to reduce the incentives for foreign workers to sneak
    across the border. That's what we agree on in Washington. If I were a
    Border Patrol agent, I'd be asking, ``What are you trying to do about
    the people trying to sneak in here to work? How come you don't have a
    temporary way for them to come work on the jobs Americans aren't
    doing?'' See, I believe that we need to understand that there are people
    coming across this border to put food on the table for their family, and
    they'll do anything to make it into America to do work. That's what you
    got to understand. A lot of people in Artesia, New Mexico, know what I'm
    talking about. There are people coming to do work Americans aren't
    doing. They're working in the dairy farms; they're working the crops;
    they're laying tile; they're putting roof on in August.
        And therefore, it seems like to me, if we want to protect this
    border, we ought to recognize they're coming and give them a temporary-
    worker card. They can come if they pass a criminal background check, for
    a limited period of time, and after they do their time, they go back
    home.
        If you want to secure this border, you got to make it so people
    don't feel like they got to sneak across the border. The people these
    people catch are coming into this country to do jobs. We ought to
    recognize that and say, ``Here is a legal way for you to come on a
    temporary basis for jobs that Americans aren't doing. And when you
    finish your time, when your time is up with the temporary-worker card,
    you go back home.'' And one way to secure that border is to have people
    not trying to sneak across the border, is to give them a chance to come
    here legally on a temporary basis.
        You know, I was out in Yuma, and they were describing one of the
    techniques for people coming here to work. You got a couple of Border
    Patrol agents out on a part of the world--a part of the road there, and
    a hundred people rush them. A hundred people coming to do work rush
    right across the border, and you got three agents trying to stop them.
    And it's impossible. So the way to stop them is to do what we're doing
    out there: add Border Patrol agents, add new double-fencing in that part
    of the border. But it seems like to me, it's logical to say, ``You can
    come over; you don't need to rush the Border Patrol. Just come over here
    in a legal way, if you pass a background check, for a temporary period
    of time, and do work Americans aren't doing.'' That's called a
    temporary-worker plan. And, in my judgment, any comprehensive bill that
    will work requires a temporary-worker plan.
        We all agree we've got to resolve the status of millions of illegal
    immigrants who are here already. And this is the toughest part of the
    bill for the Congress. Now, I believe there's widespread agreement that
    we should not have an automatic path to citizenship, which is called
    amnesty. I'm against amnesty. I'm against amnesty because it's unfair to
    those people who are standing in line to become a citizen and who have
    been here lawfully. And I'm against amnesty because I think if you grant
    amnesty, it invites a further wave of illegal immigrants to try to come
    in this country. So whatever plan we do should not be viewed as amnesty.
        In other words, some say, ``Well, the way to solve this problem is
    to say, you're here; you're automatically a citizen.'' I disagree
    strongly with that. Now, there is a debate and honest disagreement who
    believe that immigration policy should force every illegal immigrant to
    return home for good. That's what some people in Washington think. And
    obviously, there are those at the other end who believe that every
    illegal

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    immigrant should be granted automatic citizenship. Neither of those
    plans are going to work. I just described why one wouldn't work. And
    trying to find 10 million people who have been here for a long period of
    time and rout them out of our society and send them home is just
    impractical. It may sound good; it's not going to work.
        Our job is to put something on paper that will work, so these Border
    Patrol agents can get their job done. Our job is to be practical and to
    use common sense. And so here's a commonsense middle ground between
    those two polarized positions. First of all, we've got to recognize that
    people who--the difference between people who have been here for a while
    and people here newly arrived. Those who have been here newly arrived
    ought to be given a temporary-worker card, and they work their time and
    go home.
        But we've got to recognize that there are people who have been here
    for years, and they've got a home and a clean record, and they've been
    paying taxes. And so I believe if they want to stay here, that they
    ought to pay a fine, first and foremost. They've broken our law, and
    they ought to pay a fine for breaking the law. Secondly, I believe
    they've got to pay taxes and make sure that they pay their taxes.
    Thirdly, I believe they ought to speak English. And fourthly, I believe
    they have to prove they've been working for a job for a number of years.
    In other words, there's a consequence. And then--and then--they can
    apply for citizenship, but they don't get at the head of the line; they
    get in the back of the line. You get behind the people who have been
    here legally.
        In other words, you've got somebody who has been here for a while;
    they've been a good citizen; they've been working hard; and they pay a
    penalty for being here illegally. But if they want to choose to be a
    citizen, they get behind those people who have been here legally and who
    haven't broken the law. And if Congress is worried about the number of
    people getting in, they can decrease the number of green cards. You can
    control the size of the line by the number of green cards you issue. If
    you want a longer line for people, issue fewer green cards. If you want
    to shorten the line, issue more green cards. But here is a rational way
    to make sure that we treat people with dignity without granting
    automatic citizenship, which is called amnesty.
        And finally, whatever our views on the issue, we've got to agree
    that we've got to uphold the great American tradition of the melting
    pot. You know, we are one Nation under God for a reason, and that is
    because we appreciate our history, and we share ideals, we respect the
    flag we fly, and we're bound together by a common language.
        I believe English is the key to unlocking opportunity in America.
    It's been what it takes to help somebody go from picking crops to owning
    a grocery store or from cleaning the floors of an office building to
    running that office. It's what we call assimilation, as part of
    assimilating to be Americans. When immigrants assimilate into this
    society, they realize their dreams. A lot of people have come here to
    this country over the decades with a dream, some of them just as simple
    as, ``I'd like to own my own house,'' or, ``I want to work hard so my
    child can go to college.''
        I'll never forget being the Governor of Texas and going to schools
    like UTEP, University of Texas at El Paso. One of the most amazing parts
    of that ceremony is when the president of the university stood up, and she said, ``How many of you are first-
    generation graduates from college,'' and you see the students--a lot of
    them stood up. And you see their proud parents who've worked all their
    life to help a child go to college. There's something about America
    where people can work hard and realize dreams. That has, I think, made
    us a unique nation. And as we go through this debate, we've got to
    understand that people who have dreams and work hard

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    to achieve those dreams renews the spirit of the country, gives us a
    uniqueness and the capacity to say, we're all Americans.
        So here are the elements for a comprehensive immigration bill--and I
    believe strongly this: That if we don't address all the elements
    together, none of it is going to be solved at all. The reason I called
    for a comprehensive bill is because I understand that in order for these
    good folks to do their job, we've got to link all five aspects together.
    We've got to be realistic about what it takes to enforce the border. So
    I look forward to working with Congress on this important issue.
        I'll make you this pledge: My tone in this debate is going to be
    respectful. The language I use in this debate is going to remember the
    values and ideals of America. The language I use in this debate is to
    remember we're from different backgrounds, different religions,
    different cultures, but ultimately we're united under the great ideals
    of the United States of America. And I expect everybody else in this
    debate to carry that same tone as well.
        And so I want to thank you for giving me a chance to share my
    thoughts with you. I feel passionately about this issue. I feel like one
    reason the people send us to Washington, DC, is to solve difficult
    problems. That's what you send us to do. You didn't send us up there to
    kind of shove them aside and hope that they go away. This one is not
    going away. This one needs to be solved right now.
        And I also came to thank those who are getting ready to serve the
    Border Patrol for serving this great country of ours. You're an
    important part of securing America, and I want to thank you for your
    dedication to our country.
        I want to congratulate the new Commissioner for U.S. Customs and
    Border Protection, Ralph Basham. Ralph has a long and distinguished
    record of service in Federal law enforcement. He joined the Secret
    Service during the Presidency of Richard Nixon. Some of you all weren't
    even born during that period of time. [Laughter] He served as Special
    Agent in Charge of the Secret Service Offices in Cleveland and in
    Washington. He rose all the way to the position of Secret Service
    Director in 2003. I know he made it to that position because I put him
    there, and I put him there for a reason. He knows what he's doing. He
    can get the job done.
        Ralph served as Chief of Staff for the Transportation Security
    Administration and Director of Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
    That's where he came to know the Border Patrol Agency--Academy. He's a
    decent man. I trust him deeply, and he's going to be a superb leader for
    Customs and Border Protection.
        And now it's my honor to witness his swearing-in.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:45 a.m. at the Federal Law Enforcement
    Training Center. In his remarks, he referred to Charlie Whitmire, acting
    chief, Border Patrol Academy; Mayor Manuel Madrid of Artesia, NM; Gov.
    Rick Perry of Texas; Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; and Gov.
    Janet A. Napolitano of Arizona.