[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 20 (Monday, May 22, 2006)]
[Pages 951-956]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Tour of the Border in Yuma, Arizona

May 18, 2006

    Thank you all very much for allowing me to come by and say hello. 
It's good to be here in Yuma. I'd never been to Yuma before. [Laughter] 
I'd like to come back. It's a hospitable place with good weather. 
[Laughter] Remember, I was raised in west Texas. [Laughter]
    I've come down here to first of all thank the men and women of the 
Border Patrol for doing a fine job on behalf of the American people. A 
lot of time, you don't get the credit you deserve, but there's a lot of 
folks who understand how hard you work. And we really appreciate it. So 
on behalf of a grateful nation, thanks for doing an important job.
    I'm down here to talk about the immigration issue. And this is an 
important issue. It really is. It's an important debate our country is 
having. We need to have--we need to secure our border, and we need fair 
and effective immigration laws. The other night, I spoke to the country 
about the way I see it, and I'm looking forward to working with the 
United States Congress to get something done.
    There's a lot of politics in Washington, DC. And it's time to get 
rid of all the politics and do what's right for the United States of 
America and help you do your job. And that's why I've come to this part 
of the world. I wanted to hear firsthand from David and Ronald Colburn 
what they need to get the job done, and where we're making progress and 
where we aren't making progress.
    I think it helps to have the President out here, seeing the part of 
the area of the country that one time was overrun by people coming in 
here--that's beginning to get settled down because of a strategy that's 
being employed. And so I really want to thank you

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all for greeting me. Plus, I liked riding in the dune buggy. [Laughter]
    I appreciate very much your Governor for being here. Governor 
Napolitano is with us today. Thank you very much for coming. I'm honored 
you're here. She's an important person as part of helping to implement 
this strategy; after all, she's the commander-in-chief of the Arizona 
National Guard. And I'm going to talk a little bit about the Guard's 
presence here on the border to help the Border Patrol do its job.
    But I also want to thank the Members of the United States Congress 
who flew out here with me. It's a good bunch, a little rambunctious at 
times, but they're--I enjoy being with them. I call them friends. 
Congressmen Kolbe, Hayworth, Shadegg, Flake, and Franks--appreciate you 
guys taking time out of your day to come down. You care a lot about your 
State, and you care a lot about this issue. And I appreciate you being 
here.
    I want to thank Senator Ken Bennett. He's the president of the 
Arizona Senate. Senator, you didn't need to come down here, but I'm 
grateful you did. And I also want to thank Speaker Weiers for being here 
as well. I appreciate your interest in the subject. The mayor--Mayor 
Larry Nelson is with us. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming.
    I want to thank all the other State and local officials. I want to 
thank Major General David Rataczak. He's the head of the Arizona 
National Guard. We're going to be working with our Guard. Don't go 
overboard for the guy. [Laughter] We're going to be working closely with 
our Guard around the country to help the Border Patrol do its job.
    I want to thank all the folks who are here for taking time out of 
your day to give me a chance to come and visit. I particularly want to 
thank the local law enforcement officials as well.
    I understand that illegal immigration is a serious problem. And one 
of our jobs in public office is to fix problems, is to deal with a 
problem in a rational way and not pass them on to other people. And I 
spoke to the country the other night because I want to fix the problem. 
And I want to work with people in Washington to do so. People here know 
firsthand that illegal immigration puts big pressure on our local 
communities, puts pressures on the schools, puts pressures on the 
hospitals, puts pressure on the State and local budgets, puts pressures 
on your penal system. I know that.
    Our country is a country of laws, and we've got to enforce our laws. 
But we're also a nation of immigrants, and we've got to remember that 
proud tradition as well, which has strengthened our country in many 
ways. These are not contradictory goals: to remember our heritage and 
uphold our laws. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society 
at the same time.
    There's a debate in Washington, and the House started the debate by 
passing a strong enforcement bill last December. And now the Senate is 
debating. And I do want to compliment the Senators from this State--
Senator McCain and Senator Kyl--for taking the lead. They understand the 
importance of getting this issue solved, and they're on the floor of the 
Senate debating a good immigration bill. And they've offered thoughtful 
proposals, for which I am grateful.
    The Senate needs to get the bill out, and get it to what they call 
the conference committee so we can work hard to iron out the differences 
between the House and the Senate. I support, strongly support a 
comprehensive reform bill though. It needs to have five key elements to 
it.
    First, as I mentioned to you, we're going to secure our borders. 
That is the duty of our country. It's a sovereign responsibility. We 
want the border to be open to trade and lawful immigration, and we want 
our borders shut to illegal immigrants as well as criminals and drug 
dealers and terrorists. That's the objective.
    You might remember, I was the Governor of a border State, so I 
understand how big the border is. I would suggest to Members of 
Congress, as they debate this issue, that they ought to come down and 
take a look at the border, see what it's really like. It requires an 
intense focus of resources and assets in order to secure this border. It 
also requires a comprehensive strategy as well.
    Since I became the President, we've increased funding for our border 
security by 66 percent. That's helped upgrade equipment, infrastructure. 
Border Patrol agents have gone from 9,000--about 9,000 to nearly

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12,000, a significant increase of Border Patrol agents--so that we can 
have more people in the frontlines of doing our duty.
    Here, we've added about--more than 100 Border Patrol agents in the 
Yuma Sector in the last year. In other words, people are beginning to 
see, those on the frontline of protecting the border are beginning to 
see additional agents coming on board. That's about an increase of 20 
percent, to more than 660 agents. This border--this sector was 
overwhelmed at one time from people coming across illegally. I 
understand that. And one way to help deal with that problem is to 
increase the number of agents on the frontline, which is what the 
leadership of the Border Patrol has done.
    We saw some new fencing taking place. It makes sense to use fencing 
along the border in key locations in order to do our job. We saw 
lighting. I just saw the cameras in place where we're beginning to 
install--modernize the border, is what I'm telling you. We're in the 
process of making our border the most technologically advanced border in 
the world.
    Interestingly enough, I don't think most Americans know this, but 
over the past 5 years, Federal agents, like our Border Patrol agents, 
have apprehended and sent home about 6 million people--6 million people 
since 2001 coming into this country illegally. I mean, we've got some 
people working hard.
    Last year, agents in the Yuma Sector apprehended more than 70,000 
illegal entrants. That's up from 14 percent. People's work is making a 
difference, but we do not have full control of the border. And that's 
what I want you all to understand: I realize, and a lot of people in 
Congress realize.
    And so here's the part--here's the strategy: We're going to increase 
our Border Patrol by another 6,000 agents. That will have doubled the 
Border Patrol from 2001. We should have those agents on line by 2008. 
We're going to make sure we continue to be wise about how we enable you 
to do your job better, with technologies and high-tech fences in urban 
corridors and patrol roads and barriers in rural areas and motion 
sensors, infrared cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles. All the equipment 
is aimed to enable the Border Patrol to do their job. We're adding 
additional equipment which will enable the 18,000 Border Patrol agents 
we'll have in place to be able to effectively control this border.
    It's going to take time to get the technology in place, and it's 
going to take time to train the Border Patrol agents. And yet the need 
to enforce the border is urgent, and that's why, in coordination with 
our Governors, we're going to send 6,000 National Guard troops to be 
deployed on the southern border.
    Now, the reason why I think this strategy is important is because 
deploying the 6,000 troops to complement the work of the Border Patrol 
will get immediate results. And it's time to get immediate results. And 
so I want to thank Governors like Janet for her understanding about the 
need to utilize assets to do our job to enforce the border.
    The Guard is going to support border control efforts. And the Border 
Patrol, of course, will be in the lead. The Guard will operate 
surveillance and communications systems. They will install fences and 
vehicle barriers. They're going to help build patrol roads. They'll 
analyze intelligence. They will help spot people. But the Border Patrol 
will be involved in direct law enforcement. The Guard is going to free 
up agents to be in direct contact with those trying to sneak across. It 
is--the Guard is complementary. The Guard makes it easier for the Border 
Patrol to do its job.
    And the initial commitment will last for about a year for the 
6,000--for the Guard, and after that, the forces will be reduced as new 
Border Patrol agents and new equipment comes on line.
    There are more than 400 Guard members deployed along the Southwest 
border. In other words, this is something we've tried; this isn't 
anything new. The Governor has deployed Guard down here before. We've 
got Guard already helping the Border Patrol right now. The missions are 
directly related to their specific skills. In this sector, men and women 
from the Arizona Guard are assisting with communications and 
intelligence. Guard personnel from Pennsylvania and Ohio are helping 
install new infrastructure

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and technology. So the strategy I'm announcing--I announced last Monday 
has already started to work.
    State and local law enforcement in border communities are also a 
part of the strategy. And so we're going to draw on their expertise and 
provide new resources. We're going to increase Federal funding for State 
and local authorities assisting the Border Patrol on targeted law 
enforcement missions. The Federal Government isn't telling you what to 
do, but we are saying that if you choose to help the Border Patrol, that 
you'll be reimbursed for targeted enforcement missions. And we're going 
to help--we'll give State and local authorities specialized training to 
help Federal officers apprehend and detain illegal immigrants.
    As we catch more people crossing the border illegally, we got to 
make sure they're all returned home. And one of the problems we've had 
here in the border, that Border Patrol agents will tell you, is the 
problem of catch-and-release. Now, more than 85 percent of illegal 
immigrants caught--who get caught crossing the border are from Mexico. 
And they're sent home within 24 hours, and that's good. Part of having a 
secure border is, people have got to understand when you're caught, 
you're sent home.
    But the problem is, is that it's not so easy to send home illegal 
immigrants from other countries. For many years, we didn't have enough 
space in detention facilities. You all know that. And so what would 
happen is, somebody would get caught; the Border Patrol would do their 
job. They'd work hard to enforce the border, and some of the--a judge 
would say, ``Show back up; we'll see you back here in 30 days.'' Well, 
guess what? There was nobody back in 30 days. They went and headed into 
society. We've got to stop that practice. In order to make sure the 
Border Patrol is effective and do their jobs--I can't think of, frankly, 
anything more discouraging than to be out there doing--working as hard 
as you possibly can, apprehend somebody, and the next thing you know, 
they're let back out.
    And so we're going to add detention facilities. We'll continue to--
we've added some already; we're going to continue to add more. We're 
going to expedite the legal process to cut the average deportation time. 
And the State Department, along with the White House, is going to 
continue to work with Governments to say, ``Look, we want you to take 
these folks back; you've got to make sure that when we start sending 
them back that you take them back.''
    And we're making some pretty good progress. We've caught--we've 
ended catch-and-release for illegal immigrants from some countries. And 
so I'm going to ask Congress for funding and legal authority to end 
catch-and-release at the southern border once and for all, for all 
countries.
    I strongly believe that to have--secure the border, we need to have 
a temporary-worker program. And the reason why I do is, I understand 
there are many people on the other side of the border who will do 
anything to come and work. And that includes risking their life crossing 
your desert or being willing to be stuffed in the back of an 18-wheeler. 
I believe in order for the Border Patrol to be able to effectively do 
their job, we've got to have a plan in place that will reduce the people 
who are trying to sneak across.
    A temporary-worker program would create a legal path for foreign 
workers to enter a country in an orderly way for a limited period of 
time. A temporary-worker program would reduce the number of people 
trying to sneak across. A temporary-worker program would reduce the 
appeal of human smugglers. There's a whole industry that has sprung up 
that traffics in human beings, that degrades the human soul. Coyotes--
that's a familiar word here in this part of the world. A lot of people 
around the country don't understand what a coyote is, but they're 
somebody who, for money, will smuggle people into the United States so 
they can work.
    We want to know who is coming in the country and who is not coming 
in the country. And so I think it makes sense to say, if someone is 
willing to do a job Americans aren't doing, here's a temporary way to 
come and work. Here's a tamper-proof card, so you don't have to sneak 
across the border. You could walk across the border, and you can do that 
work, and when your time is up, you go home.
    Now these people are going to have to pass a criminal background 
check, but we've got

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to recognize there are people here doing jobs Americans aren't doing. 
You know it as well as anybody in this part of the world. And it seems 
like to me, there ought to be an orderly way, a rational way, to deal 
with those workers--with a temporary-work plan.
    And by the way, issuing a card, a tamper-proof card, will make it 
easier for us to enforce the law in the interior of our country. It is 
against the law for an employer to hire somebody who is here illegally. 
That's the law of the United States. We're a nation of laws; we'll 
uphold the laws. But how can you ask employers to uphold the laws when 
they're not sure whether the documents they're looking at are 
fraudulent?
    So not only has the current immigration system caused a whole 
smuggling industry to come up, but there's also a document forgery 
industry. We want our employers to be able to be confident about who 
they're hiring. That's why we need a tamper-proof ID card based upon 
modern biometrics.
    Fourth, it is important to resolve the status of million illegal 
immigrants who are here already. First of all, in this debate, there 
should be--nobody should be given an automatic citizenship--that's 
called amnesty. I oppose amnesty. Amnesty would be unfair to those who 
are here lawfully, to those who have played by the rules. Amnesty would 
undermine the rule of law, and amnesty would invite a further wave of 
illegal immigrants.
    There are some in this country who believe we ought to deport 
everybody who has been here. I just don't think it's going to work. I 
don't think it makes sense. And so I believe there's a rational middle 
ground between automatic citizenship and a program of mass deportation.
    And here it is: First, it's important for the law to distinguish 
between someone who has crossed the border illegally--recently--and 
someone who has worked here for many years and has a home and raised a 
family and has a clean record. For that person, the person who has got 
roots in our country, I believe that person should pay a meaningful 
fine, pay their taxes, learn English, prove they've worked in a job for 
a number of years, and then that person should be able to apply for 
citizenship--but would not be granted an automatic citizenship, but 
instead would be at the end of the citizenship line.
    In other words, people have been here legally, somebody who pays 
their dues, pays their taxes, pays a fine, proven to be a good citizen, 
they get at the end of the line. Someone said, well, that's amnesty--
that's not amnesty. Amnesty is automatic citizenship. This is a rational 
way to deal with people who are God-fearing, decent people, and respect 
their dignity at the same time.
    Fifth, we've got to honor the great American tradition of the 
melting pot. Americans are bound together by shared ideals and 
appreciation of our history, of respect for our flag and ability to 
speak the English language. There's certain things that unite us, no 
matter where we're from or what our background has been.
    I want people to understand, as we go through this debate, that I 
fully understand English is the key to unlocking opportunity in America. 
Part of the greatness of America is that we've been able to help 
assimilate people into our society, people from all kinds of backgrounds 
who have come here to seek a better life and become American, because we 
have the capacity to assimilate.
    And part of that assimilation process is English. I believe this: If 
you learn English, and you're a hard worker, and you have a dream, you 
have the capacity from going from picking crops to owning the store or 
from sweeping office floors to being an office manager. That's been the 
greatness of America, when you think about it. People have come here 
with a dream and have worked hard and realized that dream.
    And yet because we're from different backgrounds, we've all been 
able to be one America, one Nation under God. And so part of a rational 
immigration plan has got to remember that helping people assimilate into 
our society is a really important part of making sure we have an 
immigration system that works.
    I strongly believe that Congress needs to pass a comprehensive 
immigration bill, because you cannot secure the border unless you have 
all elements of a comprehensive plan in place. Doing our duty to secure 
the border requires a comprehensive approach. The United States Senate 
needs to end by

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the act--act by the end of this month. They need to do their duty and 
get a bill out so we can get on about the business of getting a 
comprehensive bill to my desk.

    We have a duty in Washington, DC, to conduct this debate with 
dignity and honor. Immigration is an emotional issue. Sometimes people 
get carried away on the issue, and they--in doing so, they forget the 
greatness of our country, that we are a land of immigrants; that we've 
always been a haven for better opportunity; that we welcome people who 
are willing to abide by our laws and work hard and raise their family 
and trust in the Almighty. America's greatness has been and always will 
be the fact that we are one Nation under God.

    Thanks for letting me come by.

Note: The President spoke at 12:51 p.m. at the Yuma Sector Border Patrol 
Headquarters. In his remarks, he referred to David V. Aguilar, Chief, 
and Ronald S. Colburn, Chief Patrol Agent, U.S. Border Patrol; Gov. 
Janet Napolitano of Arizona; and James P. Weiers, speaker, Arizona State 
House of Representatives. The Office of the Press Secretary also 
released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.