Bush defends immigration reform bill

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Tuesday at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), located just outside of the city of Brunswick, Georgia, President George W. Bush made it clear that he was not going to stop fighting for the proposed immigration reform bill, which would allow illegal immigrants with no criminal records to register to remain temporarily in the United States after paying a fine.

“A lot of Americans are skeptical about immigration reform primarily because they don't think the government can fix the problems,” Bush stated. “And my answer to the skeptics is, give us a chance to fix the problems in a comprehensive way that enforces our border and treats people with decency and respect.”

President Bush followed this up with the following statement:

“[The bill] is the best hope for lasting reform. If people are interested in fixing a system that's broken, this bill is the best hope to do so.”

Georgia senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, both Republican, approve of the current bill, although they did say they may not support the final bill, depending on how it is amended.

Along with giving a select number of illegal immigrants temporary occupancy, the bill would also create a guest worker program which would allow foreign laborers to come to the United States temporarily.

However, illegal immigrants that were granted temporary residency in the United States under the reforms would have some obstacles to overcome in order to gain full legal status. To obtain a green card and become a permanent resident, the immigrant would have to go through a rigorous application process, which can take several years. It would require the temporary immigrant to pay another fine, learn English, and return to their home country to be placed on a waiting list with other applicants.

Sources

The White House. "President Bush Discusses Comprehensive Immigration Reform in Glynco, Georgia" — The White House, May 29, 2007
MSNBC. "Bush tries to blunt immigration deal criticism" — MSNBC, May 29, 2007
CBS News. "Bush Defends Immigration Deal" — CBS News, May 29, 2007

External links

The White House article

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.