[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 13 (Monday, April 3, 2006)]
[Pages 579-582]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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; 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?

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    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. 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

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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 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

[[Page 582]]

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 
of Mexico; Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada; and President Hugo 
Chavez of Venezuela. A tape was not available for verification of the 
content of this interview.