Bush to tackle immigration on Mexico border
President George W. Bush on Monday tackles the thorny problem of illegal immigration on the Mexico border with his own Republican Party split over whether undocumented workers already in the United States should be allowed to stay.
Fueled by fears of terrorists slipping into the country, escalating violence and drug smuggling, Americans have become increasingly worried about illegal immigration. More than three-quarters think the government is not doing enough to control the borders, according to a CBS News poll last month.
In Tucson, Arizona, on Monday and El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Bush will focus on border security, portraying his temporary worker program – which some Republicans say rewards lawbreakers – as a way to relieve pressure on enforcement by bringing illegal immigrants “out of the shadows.”
“He’ll talk about additional resources and the use of technology to secure the border, and discuss it in terms of national security and the economy,” the White House said.
Bush has a fine line to walk between playing to the demands of his conservative base for tougher enforcement and the Republican Party’s desire to court the votes of Hispanics, the fastest-growing minority in the United States. The issue is expected to play a major role in congressional elections in many states next year.
His guest worker proposal offers the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States the chance to register and work – mostly at low-skilled jobs Americans don’t want – for up to six years. They then have to return to their home countries for a year to apply for a new work permit.
More: today.reuters.com
Mexico Calls for New Approach on Immigration Issue
Mexican President Vicente Fox says serious discussions and cooperation between the United States and Mexico, rather than reinforcing the entire border with a fence, is the way to organize orderly migration, while insuring security.
President Bush toured the American Southwest states of Arizona and New Mexico earlier this week to promote and explain what he called his "comprehensive immigration strategy."
The illegal immigration situation in these two states is so serious that the governors have declared statewide emergencies. The U.S. Congress is scheduled to vote on border enforcement legislation soon.
President Bush said
Bush, Fox Discuss Mexico Border Security
President Bush and President Vicente Fox of Mexico exchanged ideas Monday on how to stop violence and improve security along the two countries' mutual border, the White House said.
Press secretary Scott McClellan said that Bush telephoned Fox while traveling here to give a speech and said the pair "talked about working together" to improve conditions that have been a source of friction between the two countries.
McClellan told reporters that Bush has designated Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to talk to his counterpart in Mexico about the problem and said that Bush and Fox also talked
Bush vows to make U.S.-Mexico border more secure
President Bush rekindled a debate Monday in his own party, proposing a crackdown on illegal aliens at the Mexican border while allowing some undocumented immigrants to work in the United States.
"We are going to protect the border," Bush vowed in a speech at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz.
In his latest effort to shore up his conservative base, Bush insisted a crackdown would also prevent terrorists from entering the country. He wants 1,000 more border patrol guards, as well as cameras and listening devices, along the border.
But much to the displeasure
Mexico calls Bush's position on immigration reform 'significant'
Mexico described as "significant" the immigration-reform positions laid out by the administration of President George W. Bush on Tuesday, but said any U.S. plan would have to "recognize the contributions of migrants" and take into consideration those already living north of the border.
Bush on Tuesday argued for his temporary worker plan for foreigners, hoping to win over skeptical conservatives with get-tough promises about illegal immigration.
"The Mexican government considers it significant that the administration of President Bush has a solid and unified position on immigration reform that allows safe, legal and orderly migration,
Ernesto Portillo Jr. : Mexico might want candidate who stands taller against Bush
In the drive toward a new U.S. immigration policy, theres a lot of political pandering and posturing going on across the country.
Its a dance in which the participants want to capture the attention of voters for the fall mid-term election and the 2008 presidential race.
From President Bush trying to save whats left of his vaunted political capital to Gov. Janet Napolitano seeking a second term, Republicans and Democrats are shaping a new immigration policy that will decide future electoral outcomes.
But theres another election our
Garza says Bush is opposed to wall along Mexico border
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza said Thursday that the Bush administration is against proposals to build a wall along the United States' entire southern border.
"The president is aware of the concerns of critics who would like to build a wall around the United States," Garza told a small group of foreign correspondents. "As the former governor of Texas, he knows that such proposals are both unrealistic and undesirable."
Some lawmakers have proposed building a wall from California to the Gulf of Mexico to stop the millions of undocumented workers who sneak
Mexico rejects US border fences
Mexico says it opposes a US plan to build more fences along the border in order to control illegal immigration.
Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said his country "does not believe physical barriers are the solution".
President George W Bush announced the construction of more fences in the 3,200km (2,000 miles) border while touring US states earlier this week.
About 10 million Mexicans live in the United States and more than four million are said to stay illegally.
More than a million are arrested every year as they try to enter the US to look for
Bush gets tough down Mexico way
The President of the United States, having noticed that the illegal-immigrant issue has rent asunder both the nation at large and his own core constituency, proposes now to dispatch 6,000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border, thereat to provide temporary backup to an overwhelmed Border Patrol in stanching the flow of interlopers currently interloping unchecked.
Millions of Americans approve and applaud, as they surely will also cheer the rest of the border-tightening plans Bush outlined in prime time last night: a bigger civilian Border Patrol to allow the troops to resume other duties,
Dean Slams Bush's Policies on Mexico
Howard Dean traveled south of the border to meet with Mexico's presidential contenders Monday, and lashed out at the Bush administration's policies on Mexico.
Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman, claimed President Bush "turned his back on Mexico'' after it refused to support the Iraq war.
The former Vermont governor told The Associated Press in an interview that "a strong Mexico and a strong Mexican economy fixes a lot of the problems between the two countries, particularly immigration and narcotics.''
"We ought to have a partnership with Mexico'' Dean said. "President Bush has lost ground
Mexico criticizes U.S. immigration bill focusing mostly on border security
The Mexican government Friday slammed the U.S. Congress for approving the construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, while Mexican human rights groups said it will only cause more deaths.
The U.S. House of Representatives late Thursday approved building 700 miles of fence along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, giving priority for construction in Laredo, Texas. The city is across the border from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, where warring drug cartels have been blamed for more than 140 killings this year.
The measure is part of a wider immigration enforcement bill that
