http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/06/us/06 ... nted=print





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June 6, 2006
Bush Takes Immigration Law Campaign to New Mexico
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON, June 6 — President Bush tried today to win support for his immigration policies, telling people in New Mexico that tough border security is an important part of the "comprehensive" immigration-law changes that he seeks.

"Illegal immigration makes it tough on local communities," Mr. Bush said at a Border Patrol post in Artesia, N.M. "It puts a strain on public schools and strains state and local budgets. It brings crime to some of our communities. And we need to do something about it."

But moments later, trying to bridge a chasm within the Republican Party, he said: "We've got to remember we're a land of immigrants and therefore conduct this debate with dignity. The United States is a nation of laws, and we're going to enforce our laws. We're also a nation of immigrants, and we're going to uphold that tradition."

"And these are not contradictory goals," he insisted. "America can be a lawful society and America will be a welcoming society at the same time."

Mr. Bush has said he favors a "comprehensive" immigration law that would include a path to eventual citizenship for many illegal immigrants, provided that they pay penalties, obey the law and "get in back of the line" in the naturalization process.

That position puts the president on the side of the Senate, which has passed a bill along those lines. But the House has passed a much different bill, emphasizing border security as opposed to a route to citizenship, and some House Republicans have voiced doubts on whether the conflicting bills can be reconciled.

But Mr. Bush again urged members of the two chambers to come together, and he suggested that accounts of the gulf between the Senate and the House are exaggerated. "While the differences grab the headlines, the similarities in approaches are striking," he said. "We all agree we need to control our borders. There's a common agreement that the federal government has a responsibility to control the borders, so that every illegal immigrant caught at the border needs to be sent home. We agree with that."

The president spoke at a Border Patrol training station in the southeastern corner of New Mexico, a region where illegal immigrants do strain local schools and budgets, as he acknowledged. In his remarks, he tried to project empathy with those who fear and resent illegal immigrants, with the Border Patrol agents who pursue them, and with the immigrants themselves.

"What really Congress needs to do is to use a biometric technology to create a new tamper-proof identification card for every legal foreign worker," he said. "We need a tamper-proof card. If you're here legally working, here's your card, and you got to show it. And a business owner has got to call for it, and if they hire somebody without the tamper-proof card, they're in violation of the law and will be fined."

"We've got to reduce the incentives for foreign workers to sneak across the border," Mr. Bush said. "That's what we agree on in Washington. If I were a Border Patrol agent, I'd be asking: What are you trying to do about the people trying to sneak in here to work? How come, how come you don't have a temporary way for them to come work on the jobs Americans aren't doing?"

Mr. Bush said, as he often has, that his days as Texas governor gave him an understanding of what drives immigrants to risk their lives crossing rivers and deserts. "I believe that we need to understand that there are people coming across this border to put food on the table for their family, and they'll do anything to make it into America to do work," he said.

Mr. Bush tried to strike a friendly, bipartisan tone. He warmly recognized Gov. Bill Richardson, Senator Jeff Bingaman and Representative Tom Udall, all Democrats, as well as Senator Pete Domenici and Representative Steven Pearce, both Republicans.

Mr. Pearce, whose district includes Artesia, differs sharply with Mr. Bush on immigration policy, but the president greeted him like a friend and ally, kidding him for seeking shelter from the heat. "Pearce has got that umbrella up because he's bald-headed," Mr. Bush said as the crowd erupted in laughter. "He's also a fine Congressman