[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[August 5, 2006]
[Pages 1492-1493]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
August 5, 2006

    Good morning. This week, my administration met a key objective in 
our efforts to better secure our Nation's border.
    In May, I pledged to deploy up to 6,000 National Guard members to 
support the Border Patrol, and we fulfilled that pledge by August 1st. 
Through Operation Jump Start, National Guard members are now on duty 
supporting the Border Patrol in Texas, California, Arizona, and New 
Mexico.
    On Thursday, I visited the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector in 
Texas. I saw firsthand how the National Guard is working with our Border 
Patrol agents to improve border security. National Guard troops are 
helping with surveillance, construction, and logistics. They're building 
and repairing fences, maintaining vehicles, and manning detection 
equipment on the border and in command centers.
    The arrival of National Guard units has allowed the Border Patrol to 
move more agents into frontline positions, and this additional manpower 
is delivering results. With the support of the National Guard, Border 
Patrol agents have seized over 17,000 pounds of illegal drugs and caught 
more than 2,500 illegal immigrants since June 15th. Just last month, 
Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector confiscated more 
than 4,200 pounds of marijuana hidden in a tractor trailer. And the 
support of the National Guard was important in making this seizure 
happen.
    Rational and comprehensive immigration reform must begin with border 
security, and we have more to do. So I've asked Congress to fund 
dramatic increases in manpower and technology for the Border Patrol. We 
will add 6,000 new Border Patrol agents. We will build high-tech fences 
in urban corridors and new patrol roads and barriers in rural areas. And 
we will employ motion sensors, infrared cameras, and unmanned aerial 
vehicles to prevent illegal crossings. By deploying 21st century 
technologies, we will make our Border Patrol agents even more effective 
and our border more secure.
    Yet to be successful, comprehensive immigration reform must also 
accomplish four other critical goals. We need a temporary-worker program 
that will create a legal and orderly path for foreign workers to enter 
our country to work on a temporary basis. This program will add to our 
security by helping us know who is in our country and

[[Page 1493]]

why they are here. And by reducing pressure on our border, it will free 
up our Border Patrol to focus on making sure we stop terrorists, violent 
criminals, and drug smugglers from entering our country.
    We need to enforce our immigration laws at our Nation's worksites. 
To enforce the law, we have launched raids on businesses that knowingly 
hire illegal immigrants. We are filing criminal charges against these 
employers, and we are prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law.
    To help honest businesses follow the law, I propose more effective 
tools to verify the legal status of workers. These tools should include 
a tamper-proof identification card for legal foreign workers. By taking 
these steps, we will make it easier for businesses to obey the law and 
leave them no excuse for violating it.
    We need to resolve the status of illegal immigrants who are already 
here. They should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is 
amnesty, and I oppose it. Amnesty would be unfair to those who are here 
lawfully, and it would invite further waves of illegal immigration. We 
will find a rational middle ground between automatic citizenship for 
illegal immigrants and mass deportations of people who've been living 
here for many years with jobs, families, and deep roots in our country.
    Finally, we need comprehensive immigration reform that honors the 
American tradition of the melting pot by helping newcomers assimilate. 
Americans are bound together by our shared ideals, our history, and the 
ability to speak and write the English language. When immigrants 
assimilate, they advance in our society, realize their dreams, and add 
to the unity of America. We can fix the problem of illegal immigration 
and deliver an immigration system that is rational and compassionate.
    By passing comprehensive immigration reform, we will uphold our 
laws, meet the needs of our economy, and keep America what she has 
always been--an open door to the future, a blessed and promised land, 
one Nation under God.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 8:05 a.m. on August 4 at the Bush 
Ranch in Crawford, TX, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on August 5. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
August 4 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.