    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [June 26, 2007]
    [Pages 806-808]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks During a Briefing on Immigration Reform
    June 26, 2007

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. Thanks for
    working on an immigration bill that's important for this country. I
    appreciate your efforts, and I appreciate your time.
        I do want to thank Secretary Gutierrez and Secretary Chertoff for
    their hard work. One of the things I told Members of the Senate was that
    the administration is going to be involved in crafting a comprehensive
    bill that's good for the country. And I said, we're going to be more
    than just giving speeches or using the microphone to proclaim the need
    for a comprehensive bill. I would send two members plus our staff up
    to--two members of my Cabinet plus our staff up to work the--to work
    with the Senators.
        And you guys have done a really good job. Thank you for your time.
    Thanks for your understanding of the complex, carefully crafted piece of
    legislation that is moving through the Senate. And I--you've done
    exactly what I asked you to do; that's why you're in the Cabinet.
    [Laughter] I appreciate you all helping work this bill through the
    Senate.
        The first thing that we've got to recognize in the country is that
    the system isn't working. The immigration system needs reform. The
    status quo is unacceptable. Most Americans understand that. They say:
    ``Well, we attempted to reform the system in 1986, and the reform didn't
    work.'' Our view is, if the status quo is unacceptable, we need to
    replace it with something that is acceptable, and have been working
    toward that end with both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. The
    reason on the Senate, of course, is that we'll be moving our attention
    to the House when the Senate passes a comprehensive piece of
    legislation.
        The--I view this as an historic opportunity for Congress to act, for
    Congress to replace a system that is not working with one that we
    believe will work a lot better. In other words, this is a moment for
    people who have been elected to come together, focus on a problem, and
    show the American people that we can work together to fix the problem.
    If you dislike the status quo on immigration, then you ought to be
    supporting a comprehensive approach to making sure the system works.
        And it's a practical approach. The Senate has worked very hard to
    craft a comprehensive bill. In a good piece of legislation like this--in
    a difficult piece of legislation like this, you--one side doesn't get
    everything they want. It's a careful compromise, and many of you have
    been involved with that compromise.
        The problem that this bill recognizes--the bill recognizes that we
    got to address the problem in a comprehensive fashion. There are people
    who say, ``Well, we've got to do more to protect our border.'' And
    they're right; we do have to do more to protect our border. And that's
    why this bill has a lot of border security measures that will help
    continue the strategy that we have been implementing over the past year.
    As a matter of fact, there's a $4.4 billion direct deposit on
    enforcement measures. But it's important for our fellow citizens to
    understand that in order to enforce the border, there has to be a way
    for people to come to our country on a temporary basis to do work
    Americans aren't doing. Otherwise, they will continue to try to sneak in
    across the border.
        And therefore, a second aspect of the comprehensive bill is one that
    addresses the economic needs of our country, and that is a temporary-
    worker program that will match foreign workers with jobs Americans
    aren't doing--and notice I say, ``temporary-worker program.'' There are
    a lot of employers here in this country that worry

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    about having a workforce that will be able to meet the demands and needs
    of a growing economy.
        There are people who live in our neighborhood and around the world
    who are desperate to provide food for their families and recognize there
    are available jobs. And they will do anything to come to our country to
    work because they want to fight off the poverty and starvation that has
    affected their loved ones.
        It's a powerful incentive to be a mom or a dad to make sure your
    children don't suffer. That's an incentive. That's an incentive for
    people here in America; it also happens to be an incentive for people
    around the world. And therefore, people will be willing to go to extra
    lengths to avoid border security. They'll be willing to be crammed in
    the bottom of 18-wheelers. They fall prey to these coyotes who smuggle
    human beings to achieve profit.
        When I say the system hadn't worked, the system hadn't worked to
    enforce our borders like we want. But the system was--also fostered
    illegal operations that prey upon the human being, and it's not in this
    Nation's interest that that continue to happen.
        And finally, this bill goes to the heart of our values. We have
    proven that our Nation is capable of assimilating people. And I'm
    confident that we can continue to be a nation that assimilates. The bill
    recognizes that English is a part of the assimilation process and wants
    to help people learn the language in order to be able to take advantage
    of America.
        You know, I've heard all the rhetoric--you've heard it too--about
    how this is amnesty. Amnesty means that you've got to [you don't have
    to]* pay a price for having been here illegally, and this bill does
    [doesn't do]* that. But it also recognizes it's in our Nation's interest
    to bring people out of the shadows, that there's got to be a way forward
    that recognizes there is a penalty for being here illegally, on the
    other hand, that recognizes that each person has got worth and dignity.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        I love a country where people come with dreams and aspirations and
    through hard work can realize those dreams and aspirations. I'm struck
    every time I hear--I'm struck about our greatness every time I hear a
    story about a child taking advantage of a mother's or dad's hard work to
    realize the blessings of America. I was at the Coast Guard Academy--I've
    told this story several times--and the number-one cadet talked about his migrant grandfather. This fellow was a
    Mexican American--or is a Mexican American. The father came from--the
    grandfather came from Mexico to work hard so that, hopefully, someday,
    somebody in his family would realize the blessings of America. And it
    worked.
        The country is better off; our soul is constantly renewed; our
    spirit is invigorated, when people come here and realize the blessings
    of America. And so the bill that we've worked hard to craft is an
    important piece of legislation that addresses the needs of a failed
    system, that says, we're going to change for the better.
        I want to thank you all for working hard. We've got a couple of days
    of hard work ahead of us to get the bill through the first stage of the
    process, and then, of course, when successful in the Senate, we'll be
    reconvening to figure out how to get the bill out of the House. It's an
    important piece of legislation. It's an important time to act for the
    sake of the country.
        Thanks for your time. God bless your efforts. God bless our country.
    Thank you. Thank you all.
        Note: The President spoke at 9:01 a.m. in Room 350 of the Dwight D.
    Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to
    Ens. Marc A. Mares, USCG.

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