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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Bush Urges Congress To Include Worker Program In Immigration Bill WASHINGTON - With the Senate kicking off a sure-to-be acrimonious fight over immigration next week, President Bush is reinserting himself into the debate, insisting that increased border security be coupled with temporary work visas for illegal immigrants. Bush also is urging participants to tone down rhetoric that has been white-hot as politicians and the public alike wrestle with the thorniest issue: How to treat the nation's 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants. "When we conduct this debate, it must be done in a civil way," Bush said Thursday after meeting at the White House with business, religious and community leaders who advocate a guest worker program. "It must be done in a way that doesn't pit one group of people against another." Bush's visibility on an issue dear to his heart, though not one on which he has spent much time publicly, comes as he heads to Cancun, Mexico, next week for what is one of his final meetings with departing Mexican President Vicente Fox. Relations between the two men began on a high note when Bush took office promising to push for legalization for illegal immigrants, more than 6 million of them from Mexico. But the relationship grew more complicated after Sept. 11 refocused Bush's priorities and narrowed his immigration goals. Throughout, Fox has continued to press for a legal, permanent pathway for illegal immigrants and has bitterly denounced some of the enforcement-heavy proposals considered in Congress, such as the House's approval of a 700-mile border fence. Though Bush outlined his support for a guest worker program in 2004, the House did not include one in the border-security bill it approved in December. The Senate, which launches a two-week immigration debate on Tuesday, appears far friendlier to the idea of a temporary worker program for foreigners hoping to come here in the future. While the Senate Judiciary Committee is considering a separate plan that would put illegal immigrants already here on a path to citizenship, it's far from certain whether the Senate will endorse it. An initial burst of GOP support in committee last week for an "earned" legalization plan championed by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., may be dwindling as congressional aides race this week to hammer out details, some say. "It turns out some of those devilish details are giving people trouble now. And what looked like such a promising thing last week ... is turning out to be tough work," said Tamar Jacoby, an immigration expert at the conservative Manhattan Institute who has closely watched the talks. The White House has been careful to remain above the legislative fray, and hasn't endorsed any of the guest worker proposals, whether the McCain-Kennedy plan or a rival proposal authored by Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona. The 15 officials invited to the White House to meet with Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, deputy chief of staff Karl Rove and others said they were told the strategy is a deliberate one. "They are watching very carefully what's going on in Congress and I think they are prepared to encourage the right kind of program ... as it comes out of Congress," Jacoby said as she left the meeting. "He understands he's going to have a big role to play in persuading the public that whatever the answer is, it isn't an amnesty." Privately, some immigrant supporters have voiced disappointment that Bush hasn't been more vocal. While the president sometimes speaks out on immigration in his speeches and question-and-answer sessions, it has never reached the level of attention of, for instance, his 60-day, 60-stop tour last year to rally support to overhaul Social Security. And in his 51-minute State of the Union address in January, he devoted a single paragraph to immigration. White House press secretary Scott McClellan acknowledged Thursday that the White House had occasionally faltered in making its case for a comprehensive immigration package, pairing security and a guest worker plan. "I'm not sure that all aspects were getting the kind of attention that maybe it should have," he said. "And that's probably - from a communication standpoint, probably our fault."
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
That lying POS has toned down EVERYTHING from WMD to the federal debt; from the HUGE_SIZE of the federal government to the MAMMOTH_SIZE of the USA defense budget. Yup, its got to be toned down.
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