Thread: Bush Rushes to the Border States Enters Immigration Debate

illegal immigration, President George Bush, Republican, Democrat, Congress, Senate

EL MIRAGE, ARIZ. - President Bush flew into the heart of the nation's volatile debate over illegal immigration Monday and defended his administration's efforts to control the nearby border with Mexico after a surge of criticism from across the political spectrum.

8/30/2005
By PETER BAKER
Washington Post

Two weeks after the Democratic governors of Arizona and New Mexico declared states of emergency along the border, Bush used a Medicare speech here to promise local residents an increasingly robust federal campaign that will deploy more agents and provide more detention space to stop those trying to sneak into the country.

"We have an obligation to enforce the borders," Bush said to applause. "I understand it's putting a strain on your resources. What I'm telling you is there's a lot of people working hard to get the job done, but there is more we can do."

Emphasis on enforcement He stressed that the chorus of grievance emerging from border states in recent weeks had seized his attention. "It's important for the people of this state to understand your voices are being heard in Washington, D.C.," Bush said. In emphasizing beefed-up enforcement, though, he made no mention of his stalled proposal to grant temporary guest-worker status to millions of illegal immigrants.

After leaving Arizona, Bush headed to California, another state where illegal immigration has long provoked angry debate and where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has come under pressure from fellow Republicans to follow the lead of his neighbors and declare a state of emergency along the border. Bush drew strong applause in Rancho Cucamonga when he vowed to enforce border control.

The decibel level over illegal immigration in this part of the country has risen in recent months amid anger at the federal government for not doing more. A group calling itself the Minuteman Project took it upon itself to patrol the border for a time, drawing criticism from Bush who deemed its members "vigilantes." Then Govs. Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Bill Richardson of New Mexico declared emergencies to release emergency funding and to get Washington's attention.

The Bush administration responded last week when Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that he would coordinate closer with the border states and bolster enforcement efforts. Napolitano greeted Bush Monday and he promised her that he was attentive to the issue.

Greetings from McCain

Also greeting Bush was Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who is sponsoring legislation to authorize a guest-worker program permitting new immigrants to work jobs that citizens do not want.

The president paused on the tarmac to help celebrate McCain's 69th birthday, but on a blazing Arizona day, the cake melted before he could taste it.

The formal purpose of Bush's trip was to continue educating senior citizens about upcoming changes to the Medicare system and urge them to sign up for the prescription drug benefit that takes effect in January.

The White House announced that it has further refined the drug program so that Medicare beneficiaries in nearly every state will have the choice of a prescription plan with premiums under $20 a month.

http://www.alipac.us/article-672-thread-1-0.html

Mr. Bush:

Apparently you haven't heard us at all or we would be seeing immediate action, not more BS.

Forget any guest worker program for several years until this mess is cleaned up.

You can't clean a kitchen floor as long as the kids are running in and out of it. You can't end a leak in pool with without emptying the pool. If you have a gas leak, you have to turn off the gas to fix the problem.

How about a little compassion for your citizens.

We will believe you when we see the WALL.

HonestConservative

Originally Posted by HonestConservative

Mr. Bush:
How about a little compassion for your citizens.
HonestConservative

Don't hold your breath.. he don't need us anymore don't care what we do or think of him.

The time to bring immigration up was back in '00 or '04

And the next pair of liars will tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get into goverment housing on Penn Ave.

Its up to the citizens once again to defend this nation !

I ended up not going to the meet-and-greet whine and cheese suare' to flip him the bird because I lost my dog. Instead I was out looking for her all day. She's more important than he'll ever be.

Originally Posted by arizona85032

I ended up not going to the meet-and-greet whine and cheese suare' to flip him the bird because I lost my dog. Instead I was out looking for her all day. She's more important than he'll ever be.

He went to Utah too and none of my friends there went either. They have no desire to meet this clown and I don't blame them.

"We have an obligation to enforce the borders," Bush said to applause. "I understand it's putting a strain on your resources. What I'm telling you is there's a lot of people working hard to get the job done, but there is more we can do."

Yeah, it's funny that he addresses the "immigration" issue when his poll numbers are 30% and falling. It's a real good way to jump right back to where he should be by finally "taking care of the problem".

But don't listen. Keep his poll numbers low, even if you are a Republican. I'm a REAL Republican and I badmouth the guy every chance I get. If his numbers stay low, FTAA is alot less likely to pass or not even to be brought to the floor.

He's going to pretend to be tough on the issue, but it will be by passing that piece of crap that McCain-Kennedy thought up in a flashback or a drunken stupor, respectively. And you know that if and when that passes Fox will be telling his stinking minions in this country all kinds of ways to get around it and bullying our officials into not enforcing it.

He'll get away with it, because President Bush JUST DOESN'T CARE!!! So don't but any of it and PLEASE keep up the good work.

I agree with you 100% nhantimassredrebel

But don't listen. Keep his poll numbers low, even if you are a Republican. I'm a REAL Republican and I badmouth the guy every chance I get. If his numbers stay low, FTAA is alot less likely to pass or not even to be brought to the floor.

Same here...keep his poll numbers in the tank so that anything he tries to do fails.

Maybe the others will get the message.

Yeah, just don't say it on Free Republic or you'll be banned.

LIKE ME. And like I care, too.

Alipac's alot more fun.

lol

nhantimassredrebel, you can't be a full fledged ALIPAC supporter till you have been banned on Free Republic at least once!



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