[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[June 6, 2006]
[Pages 1084-1089]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks at the Laredo Border Patrol Sector Headquarters and an Exchange
With Reporters in Laredo, Texas
June 6, 2006
The President. Well, it's good to be in my home State with my home
Governor. Governor Perry understands, like I
understand, the need to enforce this border. He
[[Page 1085]]
also understands what I understand--that in order to do so, we've got to
have a comprehensive plan.
I started my day earlier in New Mexico, where I saw the training
facility that is going to put out enough Border Patrol to be able to
tell the American people, we will have doubled the Border Patrol since
2001. And that's a really important part of our strategy, is to train
more Border Patrol agents to help those that are working hard already to
do their job. But we need to make the border technologically advanced as
well.
We just saw some of the remote cameras that are in place that will
help the Border Patrol be able to do its job better. But more than that,
we've got to have a comprehensive approach. And that includes a
temporary-worker plan that says, ``You can come and do a job Americans
aren't doing if you pass a criminal background check, for a period of
time. And then once you finish that time, you go home.''
We also have got to make sure that we deal with the problem of
people who have been here for a long period of time. Some people say,
``Throw them out of the country.'' That doesn't make any sense. You just
can't throw them out of the country. Others say, ``Give them amnesty.''
And that doesn't make any sense. And the reason why giving them
automatic citizenship doesn't make any sense, it will encourage others
to come. So what we ought to do is say to somebody who's been here for a
while, if you pass a background check, criminal background check, you've
shown that you've worked here for a while, you paid a penalty--that you
can apply for citizenship, but you get at the back of the line, the
citizenship line, not at the front.
A comprehensive plan is necessary to help these good folks do their
job. And I'm going to keep calling on Congress to think about a
comprehensive plan. We agree on a lot of stuff. A lot of the elements of
this plan have got common agreement. And now it's time for folks to set
aside politics and get the job done on behalf of the American people.
Nedra [Nedra Pickler, Associated Press], you got a question?
Iran
Q. Yes, sir. Can you respond to Iran's initial reaction to the
incentives package today?
The President. Why don't you tell me what it was?
Q. Well, the top negotiator said----
The President. As you know, I've been in Artesia.
Q. Right. I was. But the top negotiator said that the package
contained positive steps, but there were some ambiguities, but the talks
were constructive.
The President. I think that's positive. I want to solve this issue
with Iran diplomatically. And I think that--I appreciate Javier
Solana carrying a message to the Iranians that
America, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany--the main group of
negotiators--wants this problem to be solved. And so we will see if the
Iranians take our offer seriously.
The choice is theirs to make. I have said, the United States will
come and sit down at the table with them so long as they're willing to
suspend their enrichment in a verifiable way. Sounds like a positive
response to me.
Steve [Steve Holland, Reuters].
Somalia
Q. Sir. In Somalia, sir, it appears to have fallen to Islamic
militants. Is there a need for international peacekeepers there, or what
do you think has happened there?
The President. Well, I talked to Secretary of State Rice about this subject yesterday. And obviously, when
there's instability anywhere in the world, we're concerned. There is
instability in Somalia. The first concern, of course, would be to make
sure that Somalia does not become an Al Qaida safe haven; that it
doesn't become a place from which terrorists can plot and plan. And so
[[Page 1086]]
we're watching very carefully the developments there, and we will
strategize more when I get back to Washington as how to best respond to
the latest incident there in Somalia.
Yes.
Immigration Reform
Q. President Bush----
The President. Where are you from, here?
Q. Laredo Morning Times.
The President. It's nice to be back here. Thank you.
Q. Very nice to meet you too.
The President. Rick and I were talking about
the first time I came here after I had won Governor--he had already been
in office for a while--was the Washington day parade, and I remember it
fondly. It's good to be back in Laredo.
Q. It's good to have you here, sir. Are you all--are you hoping to--
a lot of people say that the answer for immigration is to--well, one
group is saying that the quotas need to be raised for the amount of
legal documented workers that can come in. Is that part of your
proposal?
The President. Well, I think the framework I've outlined recognizes
that Congress has got the right to regulate what they call green cards.
And if Congress thinks that the line for citizens from Mexico is too
long, they can increase the number of green cards. If they think it's--
or they can shorten--increase the number of green cards. If they think
it's too short, they can eliminate the number of green cards. In other
words, they can control the flow of people from a particular part of the
country.
What I want is people who have been here for a while to be able to
have the choice--if they pay a fine, if they learn the English language,
if they've proven they worked--to be able to get in the citizenship--in
the potential citizenship line--but at the back of it. See, they don't
get to be in the front. The people who have been here legally are in the
front of the line. They get to wait in line. And if Congress wants to
shorten the line, they increase the number of green cards.
Q. And I guess for those that haven't been here that long, do you
favor deportation of those?
The President. Well, I believe that--as I've said in my remarks--
that there ought to be a difference between those folks who have been
here for a period of time and--like for those who own a home or have got
a family established or have had a job for a long period of time and--
and those who have arrived recently. Those people ought to be given a
temporary-worker card for a limited period of time. And when the time is
up, they need to go home. That's what a temporary worker is--it's not a
permanent-worker card; it's a temporary-worker card.
And Congress needs to determine the length--the proper length of
time. Right now, one consideration is 3 years with a 3 year renewal. And
what that will do is that will help people who are looking for somebody
to do a job Americans aren't doing find workers. It'll also mean that
somebody doesn't have to sneak across the border. See, we've got Border
Patrol agents chasing down people who are trying to sneak across and do
work Americans aren't doing. So it seems like it makes sense to me
that--``Here, you can come to our country on a temporary basis to do a
job, and when the time is up, you get to go home.'' That's how you
enforce the border. You enforce the border with more Border Patrol
agents, better technology, and a rational way to treat people who are
coming here to do work Americans aren't doing.
That's one of the reasons I've come down here to Laredo, as well as
Artesia, is I want to talk to these Border Patrol agents. And I want to
assure them that we're listening to what they need to get their job
done. Our job in government is to say to people who are risking their
lives and working hard is, ``What do you need to get
[[Page 1087]]
the job done?'' And that's why I've been coming down here, and we'll
keep coming down here. And Congress needs to get a bill done.
Yes, sir.
Congressional Action on Immigration Legislation
Q. Mr. President, you spoke about progress earlier today in Artesia.
You said that you feel it's progress that both the Senate and the House
have both taken up the issue of immigration. What concrete progress can
you point to, in terms of winning over the conservatives in your party
who still stand pretty firmly against the idea of any path to
citizenship for immigrants?
The President. Well, one thing is, it's conceivable you could have
been asking me, ``How come you can't get any Chamber in Congress to pass
a bill?'' And so progress--what I'm telling the American people is, is
that from last fall to now, we've got two bills out there. That's
progress.
What else is progress is a common understanding. One, we've got to
enforce the border; two, that people need to be treated with respect;
three, that there needs to be assimilation; four, that we need to hold
employers who break the law to account; five, there needs to be some way
to deal with people who are here to work on a temporary basis; and six,
ultimately, we're going to have to do something about people who've been
here for a long period of time. In other words, people understand those
are the principles that we've got to work on.
There's no question this is a difficult issue for some in
Washington, DC. But my job is to continue calling people to account and
say, ``We've got to work together to get a bill done.'' And one way to
do it is to come right down here on the frontlines of border enforcement
and say to the United States Congress, ``There are people working hard
on behalf of this country, and we owe them a comprehensive piece of
legislation so they can do their job.'' And I'm going to keep doing it.
Yes, ma'am. Where are you from?
Q. ABC News.
The President. ABC News? I'd suggest getting a little sunblock----
Q. Sunblock. Yes. [Laughter]
The President. Yes. Always looking out for my fellow citizens.
[Laughter]
Q. Thank you. Last summer, you set a deadline for Congress before
their August recess to pass things like the energy bill. Are you going
to put such a deadline on an immigration bill----
The President. My attitude is, is that in order for these people to
be doing their job, they need a bill as soon as possible. I'm looking
forward to getting that conference, seeing the conference get together.
You know, people--there are people making statements, and that's
important for people to set out there, say things, and kind of set their
markers. The conferences have a way of working things out. And I'm going
to be continuing to urge people to work things out in conference.
They haven't yet sat down as a conference yet, but they will pretty
soon. And that will give us a pretty good feel for whether or not
attitudes are hardened to the point nothing can get done. I don't think
so. I think the people want something done in America. If you look at
the--you know what people are saying. They're saying, ``Let's get
something done in a comprehensive way.'' And I believe we can get
something done. No question, it's hard work, but that's all the more
reason to work hard to get it done. I recognize some people in
Washington would rather duck the hard issue, but that's not the way I
am, and that's not the way most people in Congress are. They want to get
the job done, so we should keep working on it.
Okay, thank you all, unless you want to stand out here a little
longer. [Laughter] You're back again.
[[Page 1088]]
Trade With Mexico
Q. Mr. President, I'm sorry, one last question.
The President. That's fine. I'm glad to be working with the local
press.
Q. Thank you so much. Some people say that Mexico needs to do a
whole lot more to just create more jobs that pay a more decent wage for
its people, and that America should help Mexico by investing more or
providing more development funds. Is that--what do you think about that,
and do you have any kind of proposals for that?
The President. I think the people that say that the long-term
solution to immigration is for people to be able to find work in Mexico,
they're right. And that's why I've been a strong supporter of NAFTA.
One of the interesting things about the border here that I don't
think a lot of Americans are aware, but I know those of us who grew up
in Texas are aware of, is that this part of the world used to be really
poor. Up and down the Rio Grande Valley, there was a lot of impoverished
people. Laredo is a booming town--I mean, it's thriving. It has really
changed a lot, and one of the main reasons why is because of trade with
Mexico. On the other side of the border, the border States are
prosperous States.
And so to answer your question, the first thing is to promote free
and fair trade between Mexico and the United States. Trade enhances
wealth; it provides opportunities for people. The problem is in Mexico
is that the opportunities you can find here on the border don't extend
to the south of the country. And so therefore, a lot of the Mexicans
that we're finding at the border are people coming up from the south
trying to find work so they can put food on the table. And I've talked
to President Fox about this very issue, and I
know Rick has talked to President Fox about this
issue. And that is, what more can we do with Mexico to encourage
economic development south of the northern tier States?
President Fox, the last time I saw him, said
that there are 100,000 vacant jobs in northern Mexican States. I think
that's really interesting. And I said, ``What are we going to do about
it?'' And the issue is education. The issue is to make sure that people
in the interior and the south of the country have got enough education,
enough skills so they can fill those 100,000 jobs.
And so to answer your question, economic development works through
free and fair trade, as well as helping put an education system in place
that makes sense. And that's Mexico's responsibility; that's their job.
But we can help, and we work with Mexico all the time. I know Texas has
got all kinds of collaborative programs with Mexico to help their
education system.
Yes, Steve. You enjoying the heat? [Laughter]
Immigration Reform
Q. It's not so bad.
The President. It's because you've got a fine looking hat on there.
[Laughter]
Q. Thanks, sir. The word ``amnesty''--the critics seem to be able to
just label this an amnesty and get away with it. I mean, are you having
trouble fighting back that impression? Is it sinking in to people that
this isn't amnesty and it's going----
The President. Look, if you're one of these types of people that
basically say, we got to, you know, throw them out, then you just use
the word ``amnesty,'' just toss it around. You know, amnesty is
something nobody is for in America. I'm not for it. But in order to
frighten people, you just say the word ``amnesty.''
On the other hand, you can't kick people out of this country. You
can stop people from coming in, but there have been people here in this
part of the world, for example, been here for a decade--honest, hard-
working citizens doing jobs Americans aren't doing, providing for their
families.
[[Page 1089]]
They own their home. And the fundamental question is, how do you treat
them with respect and, at the same time, have a system that's fair and
orderly and respects our laws?
And so my attitude is on that, if a person wants to apply for a
citizenship, they've got to pay a fine first. They have broken the laws
of the United States, and they need to pay a fine. Then they've got to
prove they've got a clean criminal record, paid their taxes, and worked.
And then they can apply for citizenship, but they're at the back of the
line. See, there's a line of people waiting to become a citizen, and
they need to get at the back of the line, not at the front of the line.
And that's how I think we can have an orderly system. That's not
amnesty.
Amnesty is, ``Okay, everybody who is here, you're a citizen.''
That's amnesty, and I'm not for that. I think it would be a mistake. And
the reason I'm not for--and I recognize some people are for that. The
reason I think it's a mistake is that, one, there are people who played
by the rules here in America, law abiding citizens who've applied for
citizenship, who are in line to become a citizen. They've adhered to all
our laws. They're here legally, and they're in line, and they ought to
be at the head of the line. And if you say to somebody who has been here
illegally, ``You're an automatic citizen,'' then that means they're not
the head of the line--it means somebody jumped in front of them who had
broken our laws.
Secondly, if people are granted amnesty--in other words, the
Government would say, ``You're automatically a citizen''--there's going
to be another 8 million people trying to get in this country, because a
lot of people want to be citizens of the United States. It's a great
honor to be a citizen of this country. It's a great tribute to our
country, by the way, that people are willing to come here to work and to
live. We're the land of the free; we're the land of the opportunity. And
yet we've got to control our border. And so therefore, to say to some
group of people, ``You're an automatic citizen,'' would increase the
likelihood of a lot of other people trying to come back in here so they
can become a citizen automatically. And therefore, I'm against amnesty.
And I understand words in politics and words trying to frighten
people. But the comprehensive approach I've outlined, when people think
about it, makes a lot of sense, and you can't--all five need to go
together in order to be able to do the job of enforcing the border.
I've enjoyed this, and I hope you have. Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 3:23 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas; Secretary General Javier Solana of the Council
of the European Union; and President Vicente Fox Quesada of Mexico.