[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 23 (Monday, June 12, 2006)]
[Pages 1075-1076]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With President Manuel Zelaya Rosales of 
Honduras

June 5, 2006

    President Bush. Mr. President, welcome. It's good to have you here. 
We've had a very good discussion, as you would expect amongst friends. 
We discussed our common interests, and one of our common interests is 
expanded commercial opportunity. And CAFTA gives us a chance to realize 
those opportunities. We talked about our common desire to make sure the 
democracies in the region are strong.
    We talked about the immigration issue. The President is very 
concerned about the immigration issue. I assured him that my 
administration supports a comprehensive immigration bill that treats 
people with respect and, at the same time, upholds our laws. And over 
lunch, I will give him our strategy to continue to press for a 
comprehensive bill that will enforce our borders but allow people to 
come to our country in a legal way to work on a temporary basis.
    So, Mr. President, thank you. The people of America respect your 
country and appreciate our close ties. And we're sure glad you're here.
    President Zelaya. Thank you. I have expressed my appreciation to the 
President. I'd like to reiterate my thanks to him for the frankness with 
which he has spoken about the solutions to the common problems we face 
in the Western Hemisphere.

[[Page 1076]]

    And we come to this meeting with President Bush with great 
enthusiasm. And in coming here, we have asked for God's blessing so that 
this is a meeting that will truly strengthen the fraternal ties that 
join us in trying to achieve peace in our day.
    I thank you very much, Mr. Bush. Your trust makes both of our 
nations strong.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 11:51 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. President Zelaya spoke in Spanish, and his remarks were 
translated by an interpreter. A tape was not available for verification 
of the content of these remarks.