[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 10 (Monday, March 12, 2007)]
[Pages 281-284]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Enrique Gratas of Univision

March 7, 2007

Verdict in the Trial of I. Lewis Libby

    Mr. Gratas. Thank you very much, Mr. President, for this opportunity 
to talk about the trip and other issues. Yesterday, somebody very 
familiar to the administration, Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby, was found 
guilty of the charges of perjury, lying, obstruction of justice. What is 
the impact of your administration of this verdict, or your personal 
feelings?
    The President. First, this was a very serious matter. A jury of his 
peers analyzed the data very seriously and rendered a verdict that must 
be respected. Secondly, I personally am sad. I'm sad for Mr. Libby and 
his family. There was a sense of sadness to hear the verdict read for 
me. And finally, this is an ongoing legal matter; there is more to be 
done in the courts; and therefore, at this time, it's inappropriate for 
the administration

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to be commenting beyond just what you asked me.
    Mr. Gratas. Thank you. Some Senators, one in particular, Mr. 
Kennedy, is suggesting that you would pardon him. What's your idea?
    The President. Oh, I think--as I say, there's an ongoing legal 
matter. There's a lot of--if you listen carefully, the lawyers are 
talking about different avenues to approach this particular case. And so 
I'm pretty much going to stay out of it until the course--the case has 
finally run its final--the course it's going to take.

President's Upcoming Visit to Central and South America

    Mr. Gratas. Thank you. About your trip to Latin America, some 
critics think that the administration, your administration has 
neglected--or prior administrations have neglected our Latin American 
neighbors. This is your fourth trip to Latin America.
    The President. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Gratas. What do you plan to accomplish?
    The President. Well, first of all, I think I plan to accomplish--
one--the main thing is to kind of disabuse people of the notion that 
America doesn't care about the neighborhood. And it troubles me to think 
that some people in our neighborhood believe we don't care. We do--I 
care deeply, personally, about Latin America, and our country does. And 
what I'm going to do is remind people, when I go down, that the American 
people have been very generous on bilateral aid. We've increased the aid 
since I've been President from $800 million a year to $1.6 billion. And 
there's ongoing projects. And the important thing for people to 
understand is that the aid primarily goes for social justice programs--
for education programs or health programs.
    And the second thing I want to talk to people about is that--the 
importance of trade. The United States is a big market, and if you're a 
poor farmer in parts of Central or South America, it seems like it makes 
sense to be able to sell your product into this market. Why? Because you 
may get a better price, and it means you can make a better living. And 
so trade, in my judgment, is positive, and it's a way to help people be 
lifted out of poverty.
    To summarize, a prosperous and peaceful Latin America is in the 
interest of the United States.

War Protests

    Mr. Gratas. Thank you. I'm sure you're aware of some protests in the 
countries that you will visit, mainly because of the war in Iraq. Are 
you concerned about those demonstrations?
    The President. I am proud to be going to a part of the world where 
people can demonstrate, where people can express their minds. It happens 
quite frequently when I travel around the world. I understand people's 
concern about war. Nobody likes war. But I've had to make the decisions 
I made in order to not only secure our people but to deal with threats 
and to help people be free.
    And so I'm not surprised, nor am I angry. It's a part of life when 
you're the President of the United States.

Democracy in the Americas

    Mr. Gratas. Mr. President, in the last 15 months, leftist 
governments have been elected in many countries--I'll mention three, for 
example--last ones, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua. Are you worried about 
this tendency in Latin America?
    The President. You know, the thing--first of all, I like the fact 
that the countries in our neighborhood are free and people get to decide 
who the governments--who is in the government. I like that. I think it's 
great. I would be worried if there are policies which ruin economies. 
That would worry me--in other words, if these governments make decisions 
that end up making it very difficult for people to make a living and/or 
for there to be more wealth throughout the society. I would be worried 
if there's no free press--in other words, if institutions that are 
necessary for a free society were undermined. I would be worried, of 
course, if just the basic needs of the people weren't met.
    And so I applaud elections. I look forward to these governments 
responding to the real needs of the people.

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U.S. Foreign Policy

    Mr. Gratas. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has--on many 
occasions, has called you names, for example, liar, devil, terrorist, 
things like that. What is your opinion about him? And how do you respond 
to those insults?
    The President. Well, I think it's really important for the people 
who are observing U.S. reactions and U.S. policy to understand that our 
policies are not aimed at creating tensions, but our policies are aimed 
at improving people's lives. And that's really my message down there. 
There is a lot of anticipation about what my trip means, and it's 
nothing more than to say, we want to be your friends, and we've got a 
very strong policy of improving the lives of others.
    I've been in politics a long time; there's a lot of name-calling in 
politics. I've always found the best thing to do is to do what you think 
is right and move beyond the name-calling.

Immigration Reform

    Mr. Gratas. Mr. President, the United States--and this concerns 
Latin America in general, because most immigrants come from that 
continent--never before in this country have so many raids against 
immigrants. Are you planning before you leave office support a plan to 
legalize so many millions of undocumented workers?
    The President. A better way to describe this is, in the Oval Office, 
I gave a speech about comprehensive immigration reform. And 
comprehensive immigration reform says that we ought to have a temporary-
worker program that recognizes the fact that people are coming to do 
jobs that Americans aren't doing so they can do so on a legal basis, but 
not forever.
    Secondly, we got an issue with 12 million people that are here--that 
are here illegally. Now, we are a country of law, and we should expect 
people to recognize our laws. But I do not think there ought to be 
instant legalization--that's called amnesty. I think that would be a 
mistake. But I also recognize, we can't kick people out of the country. 
And so I'm going to work with Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, 
and devise a way that is rational and fair.
    The current immigration system is not working. It needs to be 
changed. It needs to be changed for the good of our country, and it 
needs to be changed for the good of the people that are in our country.

Border Security/Mexico-U.S. Relations

    Mr. Gratas. Mr. President, I have to ask this question. You're going 
to meet with President Calderon of Mexico. How are you going to resolve 
the difference between the construction of the wall on the border?
    The President. Yes. I will explain to him that our Congress was very 
worried that not enough was being done on both sides of the border about 
preventing people from sneaking in. I will explain to him that the 
border is going to be secured two ways--one, by modernization--but it's 
more than fence. This is a long border. We're going to have Border 
Patrol agents, but instead of having a system that encourages people to 
sneak in, we ought to have a system that says, you're welcome to come in 
on a legal basis to do work America is not doing. I mean, it makes no 
sense to have a system that doesn't recognize reality.
    Now, that doesn't mean automatic citizenship. There ought to be a 
different way to become a citizen. But it does say, there are people who 
are hungry in our neighborhood who want to do work that Americans aren't 
doing, and there ought to be a legal process to do it so they don't have 
to sneak across the border. So the best way to secure the border is to 
have a comprehensive immigration plan.
    And it's controversial here in America. But I firmly believe my 
position is a rational position and the right position, and I'm going to 
work hard with both Republicans and Democrats in Congress to get the 
bill this year.
    Mr. Gratas. I have 14 more questions in Spanish, but I have no time. 
[Laughter] Thank you very much.
    The President. Gracias, senor. [Laughter]

Note: The interview was taped at 11:55 a.m. in the Map Room at the White 
House for later broadcast. Mr. Gratas referred to President Felipe de 
Jesus Calderon Hinojosa of Mexico. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of this interview.

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