President Bush to Visit Yuma, Ariz.

May 18 9:07 AM US/Eastern
By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON

President Bush is trying to show the immigration problem instead of simply talking about it.

As the Senate debates a major overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, Bush is traveling to Yuma, Ariz. Yuma is the embodiment of the system that Bush frequently describes, where desperate people risk their lives for a chance to earn decent wages from U.S. employers hungry for their labor.

The president was to take a tour of the border Thursday, then give a speech aimed at driving home Monday night's prime-time address calling for National Guard troops to help strengthen the border while giving illegal immigrants in the United States a chance at citizenship and allowing more foreigners to enter the country legally to work. He also planned a round of interviews with all the television networks to help sell his ideas, which face tough opposition in Congress.

The Yuma economy is heavily reliant on agriculture, and farmers are eager to employ immigrants at low prices to harvest fresh crops that are increasingly in demand across the country. The remote outpost is also one of the hottest places in the country, and growing number of Mexicans die each year trying to make it across as Border Patrols increase along the 2,000-mile dividing line.