Bush gives no ground on deportations

By Tom Raum
Associated Press
Mar. 13, 2007 06:51 AM

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala - President Bush's message of goodwill in Latin America ran into a wall in Guatemala on Monday, as he defended his efforts to establish a temporary worker program but gave no ground on the deportation of undocumented workers.

"The United States will enforce our law," Bush said during a news conference with Guatemalan President Oscar Berger. "It's against the law to hire somebody who's in our country illegally."

Deportation is a sore issue in Guatemala, and Bush's host bluntly told him, "The Guatemalan people would have preferred a more clear and positive response - no more deportations."

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Bush stresses immigration
By Stephen Dinan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published March 13, 2007
AP Photo

GUATEMALA CITY - President Bush yesterday said he wants the House and Senate to pass immigration bills by August but said the U.S. will continue to send home illegal aliens caught in the meantime, disappointing his Guatemalan hosts who wanted all deportations to end.
"The United States will enforce our law. It's against the law to hire somebody who's in our country illegally, and we are a nation of law," Mr. Bush said.
He said his plan is to find a bill "most Republicans are comfortable with" in the Senate, then begin working with Democrats in the Senate, before turning to the House.