WASHINGTON – President Bush, trying to build support for a major overhaul of the nation’s tattered immigration laws, said Monday night he would order as many as 6,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. border with Mexico and urged Congress to give millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship.
“We do not yet have full control of the border and I am determined to change that,” the president said in an Oval Office address.
Bush gave strong support to a plan that would give many of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States an eventual path to possible citizenship.
“It is neither wise nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States and send them across the border,” he said. “There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant and a program of mass deportation.”
The Guard troops would mostly serve two-week stints before rotating out of the assignment, so keeping the force level at 6,000 over the course of a year could require up to 156,000 troops.
The White House said the troops would paid for as part of $1.9 billion being requested from Congress to supplement border enforcement this year. The White House hopes deployments to the border will begin in early June.
Bush said the National Guard troops would fill in temporarily while the nation’s Border Patrol force is expanded. He asked Congress to add 6,000 more Border Patrol agents by the end of his presidency and to add 6,700 more beds so illegal immigrants can be detained while waiting for hearings to determine that they can be sent home.
The Border Patrol would remain responsible for catching and detaining illegal immigrants, with National Guard troops providing intelligence gathering, surveillance and other administrative support. Yet the National Guard troops would still be armed and authorized to use force to protect themselves, said Bush homeland security adviser Fran Townsend.
They are to come from the four border states – California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas – but those states’ governors may also seek Guard troops from other states.
Bush called for enactment of a guest worker program to allow immigrants to take low-paying jobs, and he said employers must be held to account for hiring illegal immigrants. He said that a tamperproof identification card for workers would “leave employers with no excuse” for violating the law.
And he stressed that those who want to earn citizenship should have to assimilate into society, learn English, pay fines for breaking the law and pay back taxes.
“What I have just described is not amnesty,” Bush said. “It is a way for those who have broken the law to pay their debt to society and demonstrate the character that makes a good citizen.”
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., indicated Bush may have some trouble getting some conservatives on board with his overall plan.
“While I appreciate the president’s willingness to tackle big problems, I have real concerns about moving forward with a guest worker program or a plan to address those currently in the United States illegally until we have adequately addressed our serious border security problems,” Blunt said.
Speech at a glance
Some highlights of President Bush’s Monday speech on dealing with illegal immigration:
* The federal government will pay for up to 6,000 National Guard troops to be deployed to the southern border. Bush said Guard units will not be involved in direct law enforcement activities; Guard units will work in support positions. Bush hopes to begin deployments by June.
* Bush called for a temporary worker program allowing foreign workers to enter the United States for jobs for a limited period of time. They would be required to return to their home countries at the conclusion of their stay.
* Bush gave strong support to a plan that would give many of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States an eventual path to possible citizenship. He denied this would be an amnesty program.
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