[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 22 (Monday, June 4, 2007)]
[Pages 731-733]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Briefing on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

June 1, 2007

    First, I thank you very much for your hard work on a comprehensive 
immigration bill and your concern about our country. And the two go hand 
in hand. I believe that now is the time to address the issue of 
immigration. I think it's in our national security interests, and I 
think it's in the interest of making sure America never loses sight of 
who we are.
    This is a difficult issue for a lot of folks. I understand that. But 
because it's difficult probably means we need to work doubly hard to get 
it done. And now is the time to get it done. No matter how difficult it 
may seem for some politically, I strongly believe it's in this Nation's 
interest for people here in Washington to show courage and resolve and 
pass a comprehensive immigration reform.
    My administration is deeply involved in this issue. I feel 
passionate about the issue. I believe it's in this country's interest to 
solve the problem. I believe it's in our interest when we find a system 
that is broken to fix it, and the immigration system today is broken. 
And I've asked Michael and Carlos Gutierrez to work the issue on the 
Hill, and these men are doing good work. They understand the issue. They 
understand the bill, and they understand they need to work with the 
Republicans and Democrats to get the job done.

[[Page 732]]

    I say the system isn't working because there's a lot of Americans 
who say that the government is not enforcing our border. I say the 
system is broken because there are people coming into America to do work 
that Americans are not doing, and there are good, decent employers who 
unknowingly are hiring them, which is against the law.
    The system is broken, in my judgment, because there are 11 to 12 
million people living in the shadows of a free society. The system is 
broken because there are people who are exploiting human beings for 
material gain. There are coyotes--those are human smugglers--charging 
decent people large sums of money to come and work to put food on the 
table for their families.
    There's a document forgery industry in place, because the system is 
broken, providing people with false documentation so they can do work 
that Americans are not doing in order to provide for their families. 
There are so-called innkeepers providing substandard hovels for people 
who are smuggled into our country. In other words, we have got a system 
that is causing people--good, decent people--to be exploited. And 
therefore, now is the time to get it fixed.
    For those concerned about border security, this bill focuses on 
border security. For those concerned about making sure that we have 
workers available to do jobs--decent jobs to make sure our economy 
continues to grow, this bill addresses that issue. For those concerned 
that we must enable 11 to 12 million people to come out of the shadows 
of our society, this bill addresses that. For those concerned about 
whether or not America will still have the capacity to assimilate the 
newly arrived, it addresses that issue too.
    This is a good piece of legislation. I'm sure some of you in the 
audience here will say, ``Well, it's not perfect; there are some aspects 
of the bill that I would like to see changed.'' On a piece of 
legislation this complicated, the question people have to answer is, are 
we going to sacrifice the good for the sake of the perfect? And my call 
to you is, is that we need to work on a comprehensive bill together. 
First of all, I know you're already doing that, so I'm really here to 
thank you.
    I want to address a couple of the key issues that people are 
addressing. If you want to kill a bill, then you just go around America 
saying, ``This is amnesty.'' In other words, there are some words that 
elicit strong reactions from our fellow citizens. Amnesty is when a 
person breaks the law and is completely forgiven for having done so. 
This bill isn't amnesty. For those who call it amnesty, they're just 
trying to, in my judgment, frighten people about the bill.
    This bill is one that says, we recognize that you're here illegally, 
and there's a consequence for it. We can argue about the consequences, 
but you can't argue about the fact that there are consequences in this 
bill for people who have broken our law.
    People say, well, the bill is really--is not going to do much to 
enforce the border. Well, the truth of the matter is, certain aspects of 
the law don't come into be until certain border measures are taken. But 
I would remind people that you cannot fully enforce the border so long 
as people are trying to sneak in this country to do jobs Americans 
aren't doing. You can try, but doesn't it make sense to help the Border 
Patrol do their job by saying, if you're going to come and do a job, 
there is a legal way to do it, so you don't have to sneak across in the 
first place. If you're interested in border security, you've got to 
recognize that giving people a chance to come and work here on a 
temporary basis makes it more likely the border will be enforced.
    There are some who--I don't know if they say this explicitly, but 
they certainly allege or hint that probably the best way to deal with 11 
to 12 million people is to get them to leave the country. That's 
impossible. That's the kind of statement that sometimes happens in the 
political process aimed to inflame passion, but it's completely 
unrealistic. It's not going to happen. And therefore, the fundamental 
question for those who disagree--and there's some good folks who 
disagree on both political parties, I might add--is, what's the 
solution?
    This bill is not amnesty, but it recognizes that it is impossible 
for this country to rout people out of our society and, quote, ``send 
them home.'' It's just not going to happen. And so good people have come 
together and derived a solution based upon compromises that addresses 
this problem in a humane way.

[[Page 733]]

    I recently gave a speech at the Coast Guard Academy, and I was 
preceded by a young man, a Latino, who stood up as the head of his 
class, addressing his classmates and their families and the President of 
the United States. And he talked about his migrant grandfather, how 
proud the migrant grandfather would be. It struck me again what a 
remarkable country it is where a person with a dream for his immediate 
family and future family could come to this country, work hard, make 
sacrifices, and have his grandson address the President and his class.
    This has been the American story for decades and decades--waves of 
people looking for a better life, seeking something better for 
themselves and their families, willing to sacrifice and work hard. And 
we've got to understand--and great successes have resulted from that 
spirit. And this country must never lose sight that what has made us 
unique and, in my judgment, great is that we welcome people like that in 
a legal way, that throughout our history there have been the stories of 
people who have enriched our soul and lifted our spirit by coming to 
America.
    One of the great things about our country is we've had the capacity 
to welcome people throughout our history. And we've become all 
Americans. We've got different backgrounds, different heritages, our 
forefathers may have spoken different languages, but we're all American. 
We've been able to assimilate under the laws and traditions of our 
country. And as a result, we're a stronger nation for it.
    America must not fear diversity. We ought to welcome diversity. We 
ought to have confidence in what we have done in the past and not lose 
confidence about what we will do in the future.
    And so I want to thank you all for joining on a really important 
piece of legislation. It's the right thing to do. It's the right 
approach to take. It is right to address a problem. It is right to work 
with people in both political parties. It is right to argue for what you 
believe and recognize that compromise might be necessary to move the 
bill along. And it is right to take political risk for Members of the 
United States Congress.
    I say--I don't think this is risky, frankly. I don't view this as 
risk reward. I, frankly, view it as doing what you ought to do. See, 
people ought to be running for office to do what's right for the United 
States of America. That's what I believe people run for office for. And 
so I want you to know that you've got an administration that looks 
forward to working with people. I will do my best to make sure that this 
debate does not denigrate into name-calling and finger-pointing. And 
we'll spend energy and time and effort to help you advance a really 
important piece of legislation for the good of this country.
    I've come by to say thanks. Chertoff and Gutierrez can tell you how 
the bill has gotten this far and what we see in the future. But I'm 
looking forward to signing a bill, and I think we will. I truly believe 
that when people with good will and good heart and with focus on helping 
this country come together, that we can get a good piece of legislation 
out. And I'm looking forward to signing it. I hope you'll be there when 
I do.
    God bless. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 1:26 p.m. in Room 350 of the Dwight D. 
Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to 
S. 1348.