Bush Satisfied With Senate Progress on Immigration Reform

Thursday , May 18, 2006

AP Photo

During a tour of Yuma, Ariz., Thursday, President Bush said he is satisfied with a recent amendment in a Senate immigration reform bill that sets lower limits on the number of immigrants eligible for a guest worker program.

"I want a bill that has got a guest worker program. ... What the Senate is doing is they're working on a comprehensive approach to immigration reform — that's the best way," Bush told FOX News in a one-on-one interview.

"I think amnesty is automatic citizenship, and there are some who believe in automatic citizenship. I certainly don't. The best way to deal with people who have been here for a long period time is to say you pay a fine, learn the English language, prove you have been working here, and then get at the back of the line if you want to become a citizen," Bush said.

Bush toured a fence area and berm in Yuma, a burgeoning hotbed for illegal entry to the United States, before highlighting his newly-announced plan to put National Guard troops on the border to help put a lid on the problem.

In an address to Border Patrol units, Bush thanked them for their work and told them that "it's time to get rid of all the politics, and do what's right for the United States of America."

"I understand that illegal immigration is a serious problem and one of our jobs in public office is to fix problems ... to deal with problems in a rational way and not pass them on to other people ... I want to work with people in Washington to do so," he said.