[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 26 (Monday, July 2, 2007)]
[Pages 856-857]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 23, 2007

    Good morning. This week, Senate leaders introduced revised 
legislation on comprehensive immigration reform. I thank leaders from 
both parties for their bipartisan effort to fix our immigration system 
so it can meet the needs of our Nation in the 21st century.
    As the Senate takes up this critical bill, I understand that many 
Americans have concerns about immigration reform, especially about the 
Federal Government's ability to secure the border. So this bill puts the 
enforcement tools in place first. And it means more Border Patrol 
agents, more fencing, more infrared cameras, and other technologies at 
the border. It also requires an employee-verification system based on 
government-issued, tamper-proof identification cards that will help 
employers ensure that the workers they hire are legal.
    Only after these enforcement tools are in place will certain other 
parts of the bill go into effect. To make sure the government keeps its 
enforcement commitment, the bill includes $4.4 billion in immediate 
additional funding for these border security and worksite enforcement 
efforts.
    The bill also addresses other problems with immigration enforcement. 
Right now our laws are ineffective and insufficient. For example, 
crossing the border illegally carries weak penalties. In addition, 
participation in illegal gangs is not enough to bar admission into our 
country. And when we cannot get other countries to accept the return of 
their citizens who are dangerous criminals, in most cases, our 
Government can only detain these aliens for 6 months before releasing 
them into society.
    This is unacceptable. The bill before the Senate addresses these 
problems. Under this bill, those caught crossing illegally will be 
permanently barred from returning to the United States on a work or 
tourist visa. Under this bill, anyone known to have taken part in 
illegal gang activity can be denied admission to our country. And under 
this bill, we will be able to detain aliens who are dangerous criminals 
until another country accepts their return.
    These enforcement measures are a good start. Yet even with all these 
steps, we cannot fully secure the border unless we take pressure off the 
border. Hundreds of thousands of people come here illegally because our 
current work visa program does not match the needs of a growing and 
dynamic economy. To discourage people from crossing our border 
illegally, this bill creates an orderly path for foreign workers to 
enter our country legally to work on a temporary basis.
    With this program in place, employers will have a practical system 
to fill jobs Americans are not doing and foreign workers will have a 
legal way to apply for them. As a result, they won't have to try to 
sneak in. And that will leave border agents free to chase down drug 
dealers, human traffickers, and terrorists.
    Once the border security and worksite enforcement benchmarks are 
met, the bill will resolve the status of 12 million people who are now 
in our country illegally. Under this bill, these workers will be given 
an opportunity to get right with the law. This is not amnesty. There 
will be penalties for those who come out of the shadows. If they pass a 
strict background check, pay a fine, hold a job, maintain a clean 
criminal record, and eventually learn English, they will qualify for and 
maintain a Z visa. If they want to get a green card, they have to do all 
these things plus pay an additional fine, go to the back of the line, 
and return to their country to apply from there.
    This bill provides an historic opportunity to uphold America's 
tradition of welcoming and assimilating immigrants and honoring our 
heritage as a nation built on the rule of law. We have an obligation to 
solve problems

[[Page 857]]

that have been piling up for decades. The status quo is unacceptable. We 
must summon the political courage to move forward with a comprehensive 
reform bill. By acting now, we can ensure that our laws are respected, 
that the needs of our economy are met, and that our Nation treats 
newcomers with dignity and helps them assimilate.
    I urge members of both parties to support comprehensive immigration 
reform. By working together, we can pass this good bill and build an 
immigration system worthy of our great Nation.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 10 a.m. on June 22 in the Cabinet Room 
at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 23. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 22 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.