[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[March 28, 2006]
[Pages 590-593]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Interview With CNN Espanol
March 28, 2006
White House Chief of Staff
Q. Thank you for the interview. A very busy day at the White House,
so I have to ask you, you accepted the resignation of Andrew Card
today--is this a sign of a major shakeup at the White House?
The President. No, it's a sign of a fellow who has worked 5\1/4\
years. He's here every morning early in the morning; he stays late;
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and he put his heart and soul in the job. And he came to me about 2\1/2\
weeks ago, or 2 weeks ago and said, ``I think it may be time for me to
go on; you know, I've given it my all.'' And I thank him for his
service. I consider him an incredibly close friend. And obviously, I
picked Joshua Bolten to take his place. And
now Josh's job is to design a White House staff that meets the needs of
the President, which is one of the key--most important needs, is to make
sure I get information in a timely fashion so I can make decisions.
Q. Any more changes coming up?
The President. Well, Josh has just begun
to take a look at the White House structure. And I haven't had a chance
to talk to him about the future yet. But right now I'm honoring and
celebrating the service of Andy Card.
President's Upcoming Visit to Mexico
Q. Let's talk about Cancun. You'll meet with President Fox, Prime
Minister of Canada. What do you expect to accomplish in that trip?
The President. Well, I think it's very important for the three of us
to continue to commit ourselves to a relationship that--a commercial
relationship based upon trade, free and fair trade, a security
relationship based upon, kind of, mutual understanding of how we can
cooperate. We're going to have a cultural event. We're going to go to
the ruins, which will be fantastic, the Mayan ruins.
But the point is, is that the three of us need to be interconnected
and work closely together for the good of our respective peoples. I'll
remind people that we're not starting anything new. We're really
building on what our predecessors left behind. In 2005, there was
enormous trade between Mexico and the United States, much more
significant than it was, you know, 10 years ago. And I believe both
countries benefit from that trade.
But it is also not a given that people in both our countries accept
trade. And therefore, one of the jobs of leadership is to remind people
about the benefits, that trade equals jobs, and jobs means people have a
chance to realize hopeful dreams.
Immigration Reform
Q. The Government of Mexico recently placed ads in U.S. papers
acknowledging their responsibility in the border problem and saying they
should have a role in the way the guest-worker program is shaped. Should
Mexico have that role? Is that appropriate?
The President. Well, I think, first of all, the fact that they put
those ads in the papers talking about joint responsibility in the border
makes it easier for those of us who believe in comprehensive migration
or immigration reform to get something done. And I appreciate the
Government's stand there.
The truth of the matter is, the laws of the United States will be
written inside the Congress. Of course, thoughtful suggestions may help.
But the job is really to get a bill out of the Senate and eventually the
House--or out of a conference committee--that I can sign. And I'm
interested in comprehensive immigration reform. That includes not only
border security but also a temporary-worker plan that recognizes there
are hard-working people here doing jobs Americans won't do. And they
ought to be here in such a way so they don't have to hide in the shadows
of our society.
The fundamental issue, by the way, it seems like to me, on the
guest-worker plan, is should somebody get to the head of the line when
it comes to citizenship? And my answer is, no, they ought to get in
line, but they don't get to get to the head of the line. And that's
where some of the tension about the debate is taking place right now.
Q. The debate is taking place in the Senate. They are discussing a
plan, and they're including your guest-worker program that you've
requested. But the House said, no.
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The Sensenbrenner bill doesn't include a guest-worker program.
The President. Well, I wouldn't give up on it yet; we're just
starting. For your listeners, this is a process. The House has passed a
bill; the Senate, hopefully, will pass a bill; and then they'll get to
conference and work something out in conference. And I have called upon
both the House and the Senate to pass a comprehensive bill. And a
comprehensive bill means, to make sure you include a guest-worker
program as part of a comprehensive bill.
I happen to believe a guest-worker program recognizes reality--
what's taking place in our economy today. But it also--a guest-worker
program is part of border security. I mean, rather than have people
sneaking across the border to come and do jobs that Americans won't do,
it seems like it makes sense for people to be given an identification
card that they can come and use to do a job on a temporary basis, so
they can go back and forth freely with this tamper-proof ID card and not
have to sneak across, so that our Border Patrol agents on both sides of
the border are really dealing with drug smuggling or gun smuggling or
terrorists trying to sneak into the country.
Illegal Immigration
Q. So the question is, after those 6 years, if they get the 6 years
in this program, how will you enforce sending people back who have to go
back who have been living----
The President. Well, you'll have to have a tamper-proof card in
order to work. In other words, there will be--it will make it much
easier to have employer enforcement in place when there is a card that
you know is tamper-proof, in other words, one that can't be forged.
Right now there's a whole document forging industry that has
evolved. There are people sneaking across in 18-wheelers or people
risking their lives. And the system is inhumane, as far as I'm
concerned, and it needs to be reformed.
Border Security
Q. The White House supported the Sensenbrenner bill in the House,
making the exception that you were going to pursue a temporary guest-
worker program. Now, that bill includes the construction of 700 miles of
border, and that is seen not only in Mexico but in many Latin American
countries as a sign that the U.S. wants to isolate itself from the
region. Is that----
The President. I don't think people ought to read that into it. I
think people ought to--first of all, the House is the beginning of the
process, as you know. But people shouldn't--it's impractical to fence
off the border. But it is also realistic to give our Border Patrol
agents tools to be able to do their job. We ought to enforce our
borders. That's what the American people expect. I've talked to
President Fox about Mexico enforcing her
southern border, and he agrees there ought to be border enforcement down
there. But he, like I, understand it's difficult to enforce large
borders.
And I don't think anybody believes that you could totally fence off
the border and be effective. But I do think we ought to be in a position
to give our Border Patrol agents better tools, more effective ways to
prevent people from smuggling people and/or drugs across our border.
Venezuelan President Chavez
Q. I want to ask you about Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez. He
refers to you in very strong terms. He does the same about Secretary
Rice. What is your reaction to that, and where do you see--how do you
see that affecting relations between your two countries?
The President. I judge the President based upon his honoring of the
institutions that make democracy sound in Venezuela. I think it's very
important for leaders to honor the freedom to worship, the freedom of
the press, contracts, legal--to honor legal
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contracts, to allow people to express their opinion without fear. And
it's very important for leaders throughout the hemisphere, whether they
agree with America or not, to honor the tenets of democracy. And to the
extent he doesn't do that, then I believe he should be subject to
criticism.
Iraq
Q. President--Iraq. You've been telling people the U.S. is going the
right way. But the polls--and you've said you don't follow the polls--
the polls say people don't agree with you. Could it be that they're
right and you're wrong?
The President. History will prove whether I'm right. I think I'll be
right because I do believe freedom is universal. I remember it wasn't
all that long ago that 11 million Iraqis went to the polls in the face
of terrorist threats, in the face of potential assassination, and said,
we want to be free. That was last December.
That sentiment still exists in Iraq. The enemy has got--those who
want to stop democracy have got one weapon, and that is the ability to
kill innocent life to get on the TV, to shake our will. And my will is
not going to be shaken. You cannot have a President make decisions based
upon yesterday's polls. You must have a President who believes in
certain principles and is willing to lead based upon a vision for a
better future.
And I believe my vision for a better future entails having a
democratic Iraq as a friend and an ally and to prevent the stated goals
of the enemy from taking place. They want us to leave Iraq so they can
establish a safe haven from which to launch attacks on our people again.
And I take their goal seriously, and I will use all resources at my
disposal in order to protect the American people.
Q. Muchas gracias, Senor Presidente.
The President. Si, por nada.
Note: The interview was taped at 3:08 p.m. in the Map Room at the White
House. In his remarks, the President referred to President Vicente Fox
Quesada of Mexico; and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada. A tape
was not available for verification of the content of this interview.