Thread: Bush: Immigrants Have Shaped America's Identity

Watch for the DoubleSpeak. I put in the Word (Legal). It seems that even the President hasn’t realized that it has been Legal Immigrants that has shaped our nation not Illegal ones.

http://www.nbc17.com/news/8289738/detail.html

Bush: Immigrants Have Shaped America's Identity
This Week's Hot Button Issue Heats Up

POSTED: 9:40 am EST March 27, 2006
UPDATED: 11:54 am EST March 27, 2006

The United States, founded by (LEGAL) immigrants and praised as a haven for the oppressed, is now struggling to decide the fate of millions of illegal immigrants.

The Senate is taking up the emotional debate on the heels of weekend rallies that have drawn hundreds of thousands of people protesting attempts to toughen immigration laws.

The House has already passed a bill. That measure would crack down on illegal immigrants and those who hire them. It also authorizes more border fencing.

President George W. Bush attended a naturalization ceremony Monday, singing the praises of immigrants.

The president said that the immigration debate should be conducted in a civil and decent way. He said nobody should claim that immigrants are a drain on our society.

"(LEGAL) Immigrants have shaped America's identity," Bush said.

"Our (LEGAL) immigrant heritage has enriched America's history, it continues to shape our society. Each generation of immigrants brings a renewal to our national heritage and brings a vitality to our national culture," Bush said.

"I've called on Congress to increase the number of green cards that can lead to citizenship," Bush said.

"After Sept. 11, I signed an executive order making foreign-born members of our military immediately eligible for citizenship."

He said many troops have taken the oath of citizenship on the decks of aircraft carriers on their way to Iraq or Afghanistan or at many military bases around the world.

"Immigration is an important topic, it is also an emotional topic," Bush said. "At its core, (LEGAL) immigration is the sign of a confident and successful nation."

The president said that it says something about the United Sates that people around the world are willing to leave their homes and their families to risk everything to become an American.

"America is a nation of (LEGAL) immigrants and we’re also a nation of laws. All of you are here because you followed the rules and you waited your turn in the citizenship line," Bush said.

He went on to say that some violators enter the country illegally.

"America should not have to choose between being a welcoming society and a lawful society. We should be both at the same time," Bush said.

He said that the country should reform immigration laws so that they meet the needs for the 20th century. He said the first, the border needs to be secure.

"Our nation is also fighting a war on terror, and terrorists crossing the border could create destruction on a massive scale," Bush said.

He said border agents are being provided with cutting-edge technologies and protective infrastructures to prevent people from crossing the border illegally.

"Our objective is to keep the border open to trade and tourism and closed to criminals and drug dealers and terrorists," Bush said, "Our strategy is getting results."

He said that agents have caught and sent home more than 6 million people entering the country illegally. In Arizona alone, more than 600,000 have been apprehended.

He said that agents have made more progress, but there is much more work ahead.

More than 85 percent of the illegal immigrants caught in the United States are from Mexico and are sent home immediately, the president told the crowd. But he said illegal immigrants from other countries are released and sent back into society in a “catch and release program” and given court dates. But people rarely show up for them. His administration is working to release them. He’s working on expedited removal, to send non-Mexican illegal immigrants home quicker.

"The goal is to increase the process faster," Bush said.

Bush is also urging Congress to create a guest worker program that would let foreigners gain legal status for a set amount of time to do specific jobs.

Since last summer, the United States has cut the number of non-Mexican immigrants released into society by a third, he said.

He said the second priority is enforcing immigration laws within our country -- smugglers, terrorists, gang members and human traffickers. Many have been arrested.

Workers should be able to register to work legally for a temporary basis, but if they want citizenship, they need to get in line.

"A temporary worker program is vital to securing our border," Bush said.

A spokesman for the National Restaurant Association said that the guest worker program is "critically important" to the growth of the economy.

Some critics argue that a guest worker program will create an underclass of foreign workers. Some Republicans worry the foreign workers will burden America's social services.

Bush said he would also create tamper-proof ID cards in order to keep track of the temporary workers here on a legal basis. But he said it would not create amnesty for those who are in the country illegally. He thinks it will be unfair to reward people who broke the laws.

"Nobody benefits when illegal immigrants live in the shadows of society," Bush said.

He told the crowd that everyone suffers when people seeking to provide benefit for their family are in the arms of criminals or stuck in the back of trucks to die.

In his radio address Saturday, Bush said he's always inspired to see immigrants become American citizens.

Later this week Bush heads to Mexico, where he'll meet with Mexican President Vicente Fox. Fox supports the guest worker proposal.

Meanwhile, with immigration in the spotlight in Washington, New Mexico's governor said it would be unrealistic to round up and deport the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Instead, Bill Richardson said the United States should create a "path toward legalization" based on whether the immigrants are law-abiding, pay taxes, and are learning English or demonstrating other "positive behavior."

Richardson said the United States should work with Mexico on joint border patrols and "more enforcement on the border that is sadly lacking" now.

Appearing on the same program, Republican activist Bay Buchanan said illegal immigration shouldn't be made a felony because that would delay deporting illegal aliens from the United States. Buchanan said a guest worker program would eventually turn into amnesty.

Immigration The Focus
The thorny issue of what to do with the nation's roughly 12 million illegal aliens is the focus all across Washington this week.

The Senate Judiciary Committee faces a midnight deadline for completing a bill that includes a guest worker provision.

Bush supports letting illegal immigrants stay in the United States if they're doing work Americans are unwilling to do.

Immigration reform advocates, meanwhile, plan to rally at the U.S. Capitol.

Some clergy members plan to wear handcuffs to protest the immigration bill passed by the House. They said it will symbolize what they contend is the criminalization of their aid programs.

Thousands Gather In Ohio
Nearly 3,000 people, many wrapped in Mexican flags, rallied Sunday at the Ohio Statehouse to denounce proposals aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants.

It was part of a series of demonstrations that have taken place across the country over the weekend.

More than half a million people marched through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, and groups of 10,000 marched through Phoenix and Milwaukee. The protests come as Bush and the Senate prepare to wrestle over what to do about the illegal immigrants in the United States.

One of the organizers of the Ohio rally said: "People are listening to us. Politicians are listening to us. The message is getting out."

Previous Stories:

* March 26, 2006: Hundreds Of Thousands Rally For Immigrant Rights
* March 24, 2006: Tens Of Thousands Protest Tough Immigration Laws
* March 24, 2006: Calif. High School Students Protest Immigration Bill
* March 23, 2006: 10,000 March Against Immigration Crackdown
* March 22, 2006: Top Senate Democrat Considers Immigration Filibuster
* March 20, 2006: Chertoff Wants 'Virtual Fence' Along Mexican Border
* March 18, 2006: Frist Breaks With Bush On Immigration
* March 17, 2006: Senate Leader's Immigration Bill Dodges Guest Workers
* March 9, 2006: Senators Eye 'Virtual,' Not Real Border Wall

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"Nobody benefits when illegal immigrants live in the shadows of society."

In the shadows, like the half a million who marched in mob fashion, demanding amnesty over the weekend? That kind of shadows?

DEPORT JORGE BUSH

Nobody benefits when illegal immigrants live in the shadows of society."


In the shadows, like the half a million who marched in mob fashion, demanding amnesty over the weekend? That kind of shadows?

Seems to me they are casting some pretty dark shadows with those mob marches.