    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [May 29, 2007]
    [Pages 632-639]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco,
    Georgia
    May 29, 2007

        Thank you all very much. Please be seated, unless, of course, you
    don't have a chair. [Laughter] Thanks for having me. I'm honored to be
    here at the headquarters of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
        I don't know whether you realize this or not, but the Government
    originally planned to open this center inside the Capital Beltway. No
    one looks very sad that we didn't open it in front of the Capital
    Beltway. [Laughter] It's a spectacular place to have this center. It is
    a glorious place to live. I'm honored to be in your presence. Thanks for
    letting me come by and share some thoughts with you.
        I want to thank Director Patrick for
    her strong leadership and her kind introduction. I appreciate very much
    the tour I have just taken. A lot of our fellow citizens probably don't
    know what goes on here, but this is a center full of smart, capable
    instructors who are helping to train men and women who've volunteered to
    serve our country on the frontlines of protecting the homeland. I am
    grateful to be in your midst. I thank those of you who work here; I
    thank those of you who are being trained here; and I thank your families
    as well.
        We have a mission, a vital mission, and that's to protect our
    country. And you all are on the frontlines of that protection. And it
    gives me great confidence when I meet you to tell the American people,
    there's a lot of decent souls doing everything they can to provide
    security for the American people. So thanks.
        I appreciate the folks at FLETC that I met that are working the
    border and helping train people to secure this border of ours. And I've
    come today not only to thank you but to talk about immigration.
    Immigration is a vital issue facing this country. And the fundamental
    question is, will elected officials have the courage necessary to put a
    comprehensive immigration plan in place that makes it more likely we can
    enforce our border and, at the same time, uphold the great traditions--
    the immigrant traditions of the United States of America? And that's
    what I want to discuss with you.
        Before I do, I do want to introduce some people. I want to introduce
    Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez.
    I appreciate you coming, Mr. Secretary. Carlos wasn't born here, see. He
    was born in another country: Cuba. And now he sits in the Cabinet of the
    President of the United States. There's something great about a country
    that welcomes people, people who uphold our laws and realize the great
    blessings of America.

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        With us as well is Senator Mel Martinez. He wasn't born in America. He's a Senator from
    Florida. He was born in Cuba. I don't know if you know his story, but
    his mother and father put him on an airplane to come to the United
    States of America to be raised by total strangers because they didn't
    want their son to grow up under a tyrant named Fidel Castro. He used to sit in the Cabinet of the President of the
    United States; now he sits in the United States Senate. What a wonderful
    country it is, where people can come to live in a country based upon
    liberty and realize the great blessings of our country.
        And I want to mention those two
    men because, to me, they
    represent what the immigration debate is all about. Will we be a
    welcoming place, a place of law that renews our spirit by giving people
    a chance to succeed? So, Senator, thank you for coming as well.
        I've saved the other two traveling with me because they were born here--
    [laughter]--starting with the United States Senator from Georgia, a
    south Georgian named Saxby Chambliss, one of the finest Senators in the
    United States Senate.
        Finally, I asked Secretary Mike Chertoff to leave the bench to become the Director of the
    Department of Homeland Security. It's a big job. It's a job that
    requires organizing various Agencies under one task, and that's to
    provide protection to the American people. And Secretary Chertoff is
    doing a fine job. I'm glad he's joined us today. Thanks for coming, Mr.
    Secretary.
        I thank all the State and local officials who are here, who have
    joined us. I appreciate you taking time to come over and say hello. I
    thank the citizens from this part of the world who have joined us as
    well. Thanks for supporting this good institution. I know you know this,
    but FLETC provides an important role for this country of ours, and I
    thank you for supporting it.
        Before I talk about immigration, I do want to offer condolences for
    Agent Robert Smith. He died last week from injuries in a helicopter
    crash. He was a Customs and Border Protection agent. He reminds us, on a
    regular basis, that those who are on the frontline of protecting the
    country take danger for--as a part of their job. And therefore, we offer
    our deepest condolences for Robert Smith's family and his friends, and
    we ask for God's blessings on them.
        Our Nation depends on our Federal agents to enforce our immigration
    laws at the border and across the country. In other words, you've got a
    big job to do. We're counting on you to enforce those laws. And when you
    graduate from FLETC, you're going to be an important part of that role.
    That's why you're here; it's to upgrade your skills so you have the
    capacity to do the job the country expects you to do. You're going to
    safeguard our ports of entry; you'll investigate workplace immigration
    violations; and you'll arrest those breaking the law. We are a nation of
    laws, and we expect people to keep the laws. And if they break the laws,
    there will be a consequence.
        This administration of mine is committed to ensuring that our
    Federal agents have the resources you need to carry out your
    responsibilities. For some of the older hands here--and I'm not going to
    pick you out of the crowd--[laughter]--I'm sure you will tell some of
    the younger folks that things have changed significantly over the past
    years. One way to measure how things have changed is, look at the
    budget. We've doubled the funding for border security since I took
    office. We now spend $10 billion a year to protect this border. One
    commitment to the American people that we're serious about helping you
    do your job is to spend more money on the job. It's a way to measure
    whether or not our--we're meeting our words with commitment. And we are.
        We've used additional money. People say, ``What are you spending it
    on?'' Well, we're expanding the number of Border Patrol agents from
    about 9,000 to 13,000, and by the end of--we have expanded it--and

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    by the end of 2008, we're going to have 18,000 agents. We will have more
    than doubled the Border Patrol in a relatively quick period of time. We
    believe the more manpower is on the border, the more likely it is we'll
    be able to enforce the border, like the American people expect us to do.
        We're investing in new technology; we're strengthening
    infrastructure. In other words, we've taken our duty seriously to
    protect the border of the United States of America. As a matter of fact,
    we take it so seriously that I asked the Governors to put some National
    Guard troops down there until our Border Patrol agents got trained.
        And we're beginning to see some results. In this immigration debate,
    oftentimes people say, ``Well, they're not doing anything to protect the
    border.'' Well, that's not--those folks just simply don't know what's
    going on. You do. Men and women who wear the uniform understands what's
    going on. There's a focused, concerted effort to enforce our border.
        As a matter of fact, you can tell when the border is better defended
    because the number of arrests go down. In other words, when people know
    there's a consequence to trying to sneak across, there's less likely to
    be people sneaking across. Arrests have gone down by 27 percent over the
    past year on the southern border. That's a sign of progress. It should
    say to the American people that we're doing what the people expect us to
    do.
        The new infrastructure is making a difference. The Predators make a
    difference. The number of Border Patrol agents make a difference. I
    don't know if any of you spent time out in Artesia, New Mexico, if
    you're working for the Border Patrol, but I was impressed with boot
    camp. And they're training these Border Patrol agents to do the hard
    work that the American people expect them to do.
        One of the problems we had prior to the administration addressing
    the problem was, we had what was called--what happened was called catch-
    and-release. So you had your Border Patrol working hard, finding
    somebody trying to sneak into our country illegally. They'd catch him,
    and then they say: ``Well, you know, look, you need to come back for
    your hearing. We're going to let you out, but come back for your
    hearing.'' Well, the problem was, the people didn't want to come back
    for their hearing. They generally wanted to go work, and so they would
    just disappear.
        And it discouraged our Border Patrol agents. I've talked to too many
    agents and heard too many stories about people saying: ``Wait a minute;
    I'm tired of doing my job on the frontline of protecting the border only
    to have the people that I have stopped coming in meld into our
    society.''
        And so we worked with Congress, and we've got a lot of detention
    facilities now along the border. See, we didn't have space before; now
    we do have space. And as a result, catch-and-release has virtually been
    eliminated. It sends a strong--getting rid of the catch-and-release
    program sends a strong signal to people: If you come to the country, we
    will find you, and we're going to send you home, so don't try to come in
    the first place.
        In other words, we're working hard to enforce the border. And we're
    stepping up enforcement inside the country. I see a lot of ICE hats.
    These are the folks that are charged with making sure that people who
    knowingly hire somebody who's here illegally pays a price. In other
    words, part of making sure our country is a rule of law, we've got to
    have people enforce the law. It's against the law to hire somebody who
    is here illegally; that's the law. And we're training people here to
    make sure that they know how to enforce that law. And the message is--
    the message to employers--if you're hiring somebody here that you know
    is illegal, we're going to--there's a consequence to be paid. That's
    what a nation that bases its system on rule of law does, and that's what
    we'll continue to do.

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        And ICE is active. Your folks are working hard. ICE investigations
    have led to more than 3,000 arrests for immigration violations since the
    beginning of this fiscal year, nearly 600 arrests for criminal
    violations, including fraud and identity theft, and nearly $30 million
    in penalties against businesses that have violated the law.
        We're working hard to enforce the border. In the immigration debate,
    you hear people say, ``Well, they're not doing anything to enforce the
    border.'' They're wrong, and you know they're wrong. And I'm here to
    thank you for doing--for working as hard as you can.
        And now we've got to build on the progress. It's important for our
    American citizens to understand that the immigration system is in
    desperate need for comprehensive reform. And Congress has a historic
    window to act. The system isn't working. Think about a system that
    encourages smugglers to stuff people in 18-wheelers, people that want to
    work, people that want to provide for their families. Think about a
    system in which there's tremendous document forgery.
        You've got a person out here in south Georgia who needs somebody to
    help them on their farm. The person shows up with documents. They don't
    know whether they're real or not. There's a lot of forgery going on.
    We've got people--in my judgment, this isn't what America should be
    about. And yet the system is broken to the point where people are being
    used as human cargo, being exploited, simply because most want to come
    and provide for their families. Most are willing to do jobs Americans
    aren't doing. The system needs to be fixed.
        I appreciate the Republicans and Democrats in the United States
    Senate, starting with Saxby Chambliss and
    Mel Martinez, who put
    politics aside and put courage first to work on a comprehensive bill. It
    takes a lot of courage in the face of some of the criticism in the
    political world to do what's right, not what's comfortable. And what's
    right is to fix this system now before it's too late. And I thank you
    two for your courage.
        And Carlos and Mike
    Chertoff spent a lot of time sitting with
    the Senators from both political parties. I don't know if you're tired
    of it, but a lot of Americans are simply tired of this endless political
    bickering, that we can't work together because it might make somebody
    else look good. I tried to change the system. It's not working. So I
    sent the two Secretaries in there with the Senators from both parties
    and said, okay, why don't we sit down and see if we can't figure
    something that's good for the country. Each side is going to have to
    give a little bit. Not everybody is going to get everything they want,
    but what matters more is fixing the problem now.
        And we're making some progress. Most Americans--or many Americans
    say their primary concern is border security and ensuring that those who
    violate our laws face consequences. That's what you're hearing out there
    when you're listening to the debate.
        Others say their chief concern is keeping this economy strong.
    There's a--a lot of employers need a legal way to fill jobs that
    Americans simply aren't doing. There's a lot of jobs here in Georgia
    that require people from--that are willing to do the work that Americans
    aren't doing. It's just the way it is.
        You talk to your farmer friends or your nursery friends--I remember
    the peach grower, Saxby, that you sent over
    to the White House. He's there saying to me: ``You've got to understand
    something, Mr. President. My business won't go forward unless I have
    some of these good people that are willing to work long hours in my
    peach orchard helping me harvest the crop.'' So a lot of people in this
    debate are concerned about getting a bill in place that will help keep
    the economy growing.
        Others say their main concern is to bring hard-working, decent
    people out of the shadows of our society. All these concerns

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    are part of the same issue, and it's important for American citizens to
    understand that the legislation now before Congress addresses them all
    as one. Our view is, is that you can't solve the problem unless you
    address all aspects of the problem. We've tried to address immigration
    reform in the past by talking about only one aspect of immigration
    reform. To make it work, to address the concerns of the American people,
    there must be a comprehensive approach.
        A lot of Americans are skeptical about immigration reform primarily
    because they don't think the Government can fix the problems. And my
    answer to the skeptics is, give us a chance to fix the problems in a
    comprehensive way that enforces our border and treats people with
    decency and respect. Give us a chance to fix this problem. Don't try to
    kill this bill before it gets moving. Give us a chance to make it easier
    for the folks who wear the uniform along our borders to do their job.
        I believe the bill before Congress learns from the mistakes of the
    past. It is the best hope for lasting reform. If people are interested
    in fixing a system that's broken, this bill is the best hope to do so.
    It answers the longstanding concerns of the American people. It deserves
    widespread support, and I strongly back it.
        If you're serious about securing our borders, it makes sense to
    support legislation that makes enforcement our highest priority, and
    that's what this bill does. For decades, we have not been in complete
    control of the borders, and many people have lost faith in our capacity
    to get control of the borders. I ask them to look at what's taken place
    over the past years, recent years. I wish they could talk to some of
    your Border Patrol friends and talk about the advances that have been
    made and the good work they're doing down there.
        The first step to comprehensive reform must be to enforce
    immigration laws at the borders and at worksites across America, and
    this is what this bill does. For the skeptics who say that we're not
    concerned about border security or workplace enforcement, they need to
    read the bill. The bill prioritizes enforcing our laws at the border and
    saying to employers, we'll hold you to account for employing somebody
    who's here illegally--knowingly employing somebody who's here illegally.
        This bill sets enforcement benchmarks that have got to be met before
    other aspects of the comprehensive bill are triggered. In other words,
    there has to be certain accomplishments in place before other aspects of
    the bill come into being. And here are some of those markers: increasing
    the number of Border Patrol agents. In other words, we said we're going
    to double them; they've got to get doubled, until other aspects of the
    bill come into being. We're going to build miles of state-of-the-art
    fencing. We're going to improve surveillance with advanced technologies.
    We will do a better job of holding employers accountable for the workers
    they hire.
        Most employers want to comply with the law. The peach grower wanted
    to comply with the law. Believe me, he's a law-abiding, decent man. His
    attitude is, why don't you help me verify the legal status of a
    potential employee, as opposed to holding me to account--which we will
    do, of course, if he knowingly hires somebody--give me a hand with the
    verification system.
        And that's why we're going to promote tamper-resistant
    identification cards. In other words, if you're here working, you're
    going to have a card that you can't tamper with, that some document
    forger can't foist off as a document for somebody to come and pick
    peaches here in Georgia.
        In other words, we've got a serious attempt in this bill, and a real
    attempt to do what a lot of Americans want us to do, and that's enforce
    the border. If you're serious about keeping our economy strong, it makes
    sense to support legislation that gives foreign workers a legal path to
    jobs in America. There are people doing jobs here Americans aren't
    doing.

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        The peach man said to me, he said, ``I can't find somebody from my
    hometown who wants to pick peaches, but I can find somebody who wants to
    put food on their table for a family from Mexico,'' for example. It
    seems to me; it makes sense to give those people a chance to come and
    work here on a temporary basis. This bill says ``temporary''; it means
    temporary. You'll be here for a number of years, and you'll go back
    home. That's what a temporary-worker plan does. In the meantime, it
    helps meet the needs of our economy.
        This bill's going to--this aspect of the bill will allow Federal
    agents to focus on apprehending violent criminals and terrorists who are
    a threat to our country rather than people who want to work here. In
    other words, if you can come to our country on a temporary basis
    legally, you're not going to sneak across the border. Who wants to pay a
    coyote hundreds of dollars or thousands of dollars when you can walk
    across and say: ``I'm going to have a temporary work--job here in this
    country, and here's my tamper-resistant card.''
        If you're interested in securing the border, wouldn't you rather
    have Border Patrol agents chasing down terrorists and gun runners and
    dope runners, as opposed to people who are coming to do jobs Americans
    aren't doing? A temporary-worker plan, that is truly temporary, is going
    to make it easier for us to enforce the border. Border enforcement and
    having a rational worker plan go hand in hand. And that's what the
    American people have got to understand.
        A temporary-worker program will not begin until our border security
    measures are in place and until we have a reliable system for verifying
    employment eligibility. That's the way the bill works. Oh, I'm sure
    you've heard some of the talk out there about people defining the bill.
    It's clear they hadn't read the bill. They're speculating about what the
    bill says, and they're trying to rile up people's emotions. This is a
    good piece of legislation. It addresses the border security needs, and
    it addresses the employment needs of our country.
        If you're serious about bringing hard-working illegal immigrants out
    of the shadows of our society, it makes sense to support legislation
    that will resolve their status without animosity and without amnesty.
    Others--I don't--they estimate 11 to 12 million people have been here
    for some--quite awhile, who are in an underground in America. It's not
    right, as far as I'm concerned. That's not what this country stands for.
    I know there are some people out there hollering and saying, ``Kick them
    out.'' That is simply unrealistic. It won't work.
        There are some people saying, ``Giving them automatic citizenship.''
    I oppose that. It won't work. I don't think it makes any sense to do
    that. Amnesty is forgiveness for being here without any penalties;
    that's what amnesty is. I oppose it. The authors--many of the authors of
    this bill oppose it. This bill is not an amnesty bill. If you want to
    scare the American people, what you say is, the bill is an amnesty bill.
    It's not an amnesty bill. That's empty political rhetoric, trying to
    frighten our fellow citizens. People in Congress need the courage to go
    back to their districts and explain exactly what this bill is all about
    in order to put comprehensive immigration reform in place.
        Let me explain how it works. Under the bill, those who want to stay
    in our country who have been here can apply for a Z visa. At some point
    in time, those who are coming to work will get temporary-work visas.
    Those who have been here already can apply for a Z visa. To receive the
    visa, illegal workers must admit they violated the law and pay a
    meaningful penalty, pass a strict background check, hold a job, maintain
    a clean record, and eventually earn English--learn English. That's how
    it works.
        It says, if you want to be here, here's what you have to do. There
    is a consequence for having broken the law. As

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    a result of a recent Senate amendment, they have to pay back taxes if
    they haven't paid taxes too. You're working hard; you pay taxes. People
    who have been here in this country ought to pay taxes. That's what it
    says.
        The hurdles to citizenship are going to be even higher. In other
    words, if somebody says: ``Fine. I'll take my Z visa. I'm out of the
    shadows now. I've got an opportunity to not hide in America. I'll
    continue doing the work I'm doing. I'm going to keep my record clean.
    I'll pay the penalties necessary so I can stay here.'' That's what it
    says. But if you want to be a citizen, there's more hurdles. It says,
    the Z visa worker would first have to pay an additional fine. In other
    words, you have broken the law, and there's a consequence for breaking
    the law. That's what the bill says.
        Secondly, you've got to return home to file an application for your
    green card. If you want to be a citizen, you pay a fine; you touch
    base--home to apply for a green card; and then you take your place
    behind those who have played by the rules and have been waiting in line
    patiently to become a citizen.
        This is a good bill. It recognizes that we've got to treat people
    with respect, and it also recognizes we're a nation of law. And as we go
    forward, the legislation creates a new system for admitting new
    immigrants to our country, people who want to come here legally. The
    system is going to reward applicants based upon skills and education, in
    addition to family ties, so we can ensure America continues to have the
    world's most talented workforce.
        This legislation is also going to help newcomers assimilate into our
    society. One of the great aspects of American society is, people have
    been able to assimilate.
        You know, I was at the Coast Guard Academy the other day, giving a
    speech there. And the president of the class,
    a Latino, talked with great pride in his voice about the fact that his
    grandfather was a migrant to the United States of America, and here he
    is addressing the Coast Guard Academy. I think it speaks volumes about
    the great promise of America. One of the reasons why, is because his
    family assimilated into our society and into our culture. The key to
    unlocking the full promise of America is the ability to speak English.
    That's the language of our country. If you can speak English in this
    country and work hard and have dreams, you can make it. That's the great
    story of America. I believe it's true today like it was true yesterday
    as well.
        We expect opportunities to help--we will expand opportunities to
    help new immigrants learn the language, learn about the ideals that make
    us a wonderful country. If you're serious about reform, it makes sense
    to support comprehensive legislation that addresses all aspects of the
    problem. You cannot solve the problem unless we address all aspects of
    the problem at the same time.
        This reform is complex. There's a lot of emotions around this issue.
    Convictions run deep. Those determined to find fault with this bill will
    always be able to look at a narrow slice of it and find something they
    don't like. If you want to kill the bill, if you don't want to do what's
    right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of it; you can use
    it to frighten people. Or you can show leadership and solve this problem
    once and for all, so the people who wear the uniform in this crowd can
    do the job we expect them to do.
        Now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform. Now is the
    time for members of both political parties to stand up and show courage
    and take a leadership role and do what's right for America.
        Thanks for letting me come by, and God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:31 a.m. at the Tom Steed Building. In
    his remarks, he referred to Connie L. Patrick, director, Federal Law
    Enforcement Training Center; and

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    President Fidel Castro Ruz of Cuba. The Office of the Press Secretary
    also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.