[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[March 25, 2006]
[Pages 570-572]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
March 25, 2006

    Good morning. On Monday, I will attend a naturalization ceremony 
here in Washington. It's always inspiring to watch a group of immigrants 
raise their hands and swear an oath to become citizens of the United 
States of America. These men and women follow in the footsteps of 
millions who've come to our shores seeking liberty and opportunity, and 
America is better off for their hard work and love of freedom.
    America is a nation of immigrants, and we're also a nation of laws. 
And our immigration laws are in need of reform. So at Monday's ceremony, 
I will discuss my vision for comprehensive immigration reform that will 
secure our borders, improve enforcement of our immigration laws, and 
uphold our values.
    Comprehensive immigration reform begins with securing our borders. 
Since I took office, we've increased funding for border

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security by 66 percent, and the Department of Homeland Security has 
caught and sent home nearly 6 million illegal immigrants. To improve 
security at the border, we're hiring thousands more Border Patrol 
agents. We're deploying new technology like infrared cameras and 
unmanned aerial vehicles to help our agents do their job. And we're 
installing physical barriers to entry, like fences in urban areas.

    We're also working to end the unwise practice of catch-and-release. 
For decades, many illegal immigrants were released back into society 
soon after they were caught because we did not have enough detention 
space. So we're adding more beds so we can hold the people we catch, and 
we're reducing the time it takes to send them back home. When illegal 
immigrants know they will be caught and sent home, they will be less 
likely to break the rules, and our immigration system will be more 
orderly and secure. We're making good progress, but we have much more 
work ahead, and we will not be satisfied until we have control of our 
border.

    Comprehensive immigration reform also includes strengthening the 
enforcement of our laws in America's interior. Since I took office, 
we've increased funding for immigration enforcement by 42 percent. We're 
increasing the number of immigration enforcement agents and criminal 
investigators, enhancing worksite enforcement, and going after smugglers 
and gang members and human traffickers.

    Finally, comprehensive immigration reform requires a temporary-
worker program that will relieve pressure on our borders. This program 
would create a legal way to match willing foreign workers with willing 
American employers to fill jobs that Americans will not do. By reducing 
the number of people trying to sneak across the border, we would free up 
our law enforcement offi-cers to focus on criminals and drug dealers and 
terrorists and others who mean us harm.
    One thing the temporary-worker program would not do is provide 
amnesty to those who are in our country illegally. I believe that 
granting amnesty would be unfair, because it would allow those who break 
the law to jump ahead of people who play by the rules and wait in the 
citizenship line. Amnesty would also be unwise, because it would 
encourage waves of illegal immigration, increase pressure on the border, 
and make it more difficult for law enforcement to focus on those who 
mean us harm. For the sake of justice and for the sake of border 
security, I firmly oppose amnesty.
    In the coming days, the United States Senate plans to consider 
proposals on immigration reform. This is an emotional debate. America 
does not have to choose between being a welcoming society and being a 
lawful society. We can be both at the same time. As we debate the 
immigration issue, we must remember, there are hard-working individuals, 
doing jobs that Americans will not do, who are contributing to the 
economic vitality of our country.
    To keep the promise of America, we must enforce the laws of America. 
We must also ensure that immigrants assimilate into our society and 
learn our customs and values--including the English language. By working 
together, we can meet our duty to fix our immigration system and deliver 
a bill that protects our country, upholds our laws, and makes our Nation 
proud.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:59 a.m. on March 24 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 25. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 24 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.

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