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Argument: Path to citiz. puts illegals through citiz. process w/o deportation

Issue Report: Path to citizenship for illegal immigrants in the US

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George W. Bush, MBA, 43rd President of the United States, in an Aug. 3, 2006 White House website section titled “President Bush Discusses Comprehensive Immigration Reform in Texas,” offered the following: “…We’ve got to make sure that we resolve the status of illegal immigrants who are already in this country. It’s an interesting debate taking place in America — I’ll give you my position. One, I do not think we ought to grant amnesty to people who are here illegally. And the reason I don’t is I think that will encourage a whole other bunch of people to come. But I know you cannot deport 10 million people who have been here working. It’s unrealistic. It may sound good in certain circles and political circles. It’s not going to work. The best plan is to say to somebody who has been here illegally, if you’ve been paying your taxes, and you’ve got a good criminal record, that you can pay a fine for being here illegally, and you can learn English, like the rest of us have done, and you can get in a citizenship line to apply for citizenship. You don’t get to get in the front, you get to get in the back of the line. But this idea of deporting people is just not — it doesn’t make any sense to me, and it doesn’t make any sense to a lot of people who understand this issue. So here’s a reasonable way to treat people with respect and accomplish what we want to accomplish, which is to be a country of law and a country of decency and respect… in order to make a comprehensive immigration plan work, we’ve got to help folks assimilate into our society… I expect the United States Congress to do its duty and pass comprehensive immigration reform.”[1]