Bush opposes amnesty for illegals, blames Democrats for derailing immigration deal News
Bush opposes amnesty for illegals, blames Democrats for derailing immigration deal

[JURIST] President Bush indicated in his weekly radio address [text; recorded audio] Saturday that he would not support any immigration reform [JURIST archive] that would grant amnesty to illegal immigrants. Although he continued to call for a temporary guest worker program [JURIST report], he insisted:

A new temporary worker program should not provide amnesty. Granting amnesty would be unfair to those who follow the rules and obey the laws. Amnesty would also be unwise, because it would encourage others to break the law and create new waves of illegal immigration. We must ensure that those who break our laws are not granted an automatic path to citizenship.
Bush blamed Democrats for stalling what he called a "promising bipartisan compromise" on immigration law changes that failed a key Senate vote [JURIST report] early Friday, and called on Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to "end his blocking tactics and allow the Senate to do its work." AFP has more.