Notes and Summary of the Broadcast
Note: The President also covered the subject
of immigration on May 12.
THE PRESIDENT: This week, my Administration
reached an agreement with Republicans and Democrats in the
Senate on immigration reform. I thank the leaders in both
parties who worked hard to produce legislation that will
secure the border, restore respect for the law, and meet the
legitimate needs of our economy.
A Libertarian Response:
Kevin Craig's Platform: Immigration
The 2004 Libertarian Party Platform: Immigration
The 2006 Libertarian Party Platform: Immigration
| Bush's
Remarks |
A
Libertarian Response |
| Here's how
the bill works: First, it will require that strong
border security and enforcement benchmarks are met
before other elements of the legislation are
implemented. These benchmarks include completing our
plan to double the number of Border Patrol agents,
improving border infrastructure, and maintaining enough
beds in our detention facilities so that all those
apprehended at the border can be held and returned to
their home countries. |
You have
the right to travel wherever you want, so long as you
are not trespassing on the property of others. The
federal government claims to own nearly 50% of all the
land in the United States. This is not what America's
Founders envisioned. America stands for private property,
not collective government ownership. Private people like
you should own this land, and you should be able to
decide who do invite on your own private property |
| We will
also improve work site enforcement by implementing an
effective system to verify worker eligibility using
tamper-resistant identification
cards, and by imposing stiffer penalties on
companies that knowingly violate the law. Once these
benchmarks are met, they will trigger other provisions
of comprehensive reform. |
You have
the right to hire the best employees. "Best"
can mean "most talented," or
"cheapest," whatever you believe will help you
meet the demands of consumers, whether high quality or
low price.
An ID card which is "tamper-resistant" can
still be forged. |
| The
legislation will create a new temporary worker program.
Such a program will help our economy and take pressure
off the border by providing foreign workers with a legal
and orderly way to enter our country to fill jobs that
Americans are not doing. To ensure that this program is
truly temporary, workers will be limited to three
two-year terms, with at least a year spent outside the
United States between each term. Temporary workers will
be allowed to bring immediate family members only if
they demonstrate that they can support them financially,
and that their family members are covered by health
insurance. |
Employees
and employers have the right to make contracts for terms
as long as they agree. The government has no right to
say "You can only create an employment contract
lasting two years, and you have to live somewhere else
for 1 year before creating another employment contract.
Individuals have the right not to purchase insurance. |
| This
legislation will also help resolve the status of illegal
immigrants who are already in our country without
amnesty. Those who come out of the shadows will be given
probationary status. If they pass a strict background
check, pay a fine, hold a job, maintain a clean criminal
record, and eventually learn English, they will qualify
for and maintain a Z visa. If they want to become
citizens, they have to do all these things, plus pay an
additional fine, go to the back of the line, pass a
citizenship test, and return to their country to apply
for their green card. |
Congress
has the authority under the constitution to create laws
governing naturalization (citizenship). The Constitution
does not give Congress the authority to comprehensively
regulate the lives of citizens or non-citizens. Human
beings have the right not to be citizens of the United
States. Citizens of the United States have the right to
be able to hire people who are not citizens of the
United States, or associate in other ways with people
who are not citizens of the United States. |
| This
legislation will also strengthen our efforts to help new
immigrants assimilate. The key to unlocking the full
promise of America is the ability to speak English. This
bill affirms that English is the language of the United
States. And it provides new opportunities for immigrants
to learn English and embrace the shared ideals that bind
us as a nation. |
Human
beings have the right not to be assimilated. Citizens of
the United States have the right to speak any language
they wish, and speak that language with people who are
not citizens of the United States.
What are the "shared ideals that bind us as a
nation?" Who has a right to determine these ideals? |
| In
addition, this legislation will clear the backlog of
family members who've applied to come to our country
lawfully, and have been waiting patiently in line. This
legislation will end chain migration by limiting the
relatives who can automatically receive green cards to
spouses and minor children. And this legislation will
transform our immigration system so that future
immigration decisions are focused on admitting
immigrants who have the skills, education, and English
proficiency that will help America compete in a global
economy. |
The federal
government has done an incredibly poor job of educating
Americans. Now the government proposes to educate
immigrants. The government will fail, of course,
Uneducated immigrants will be admitted.
This is nothing but a plan for comprehensive
regulation of human beings. |
| I realize
that many hold strong convictions on this issue, and
reaching an agreement was not easy. I appreciate the
effort of Senators who came together to craft this
important legislation. This bill brings us closer to an
immigration system that enforces our laws and upholds
the great American tradition of welcoming those who
share our values and our love of freedom. |
Citizenship
should be granted to those who "share our
ideals." God-given rights are not conditioned on
sharing those ideals. |
| Thank you
for listening. |
|
Congress is not going to close the borders, like the anti-immigrationists
want.
The leadership of both Democrats and Republicans is working
to abolish all borders in North America, in a plan modeled
after the European
Union. Nobody heard the term "European Union" 20
years ago, but the architects of the EU recently threw
themselves a 50th Birthday Party. In their minds, the European
Union began 50 years ago with an innocuous trade agreement
creating the "European Coal and Steel Community."
Today the EU represents the abolition of sovereign nations and
creation of a regional central state.
President Bush entered into an
agreement with Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian
Prime Minister Paul Martin which is for North America what
that trade agreement 50 years ago was for Europe. It is the
abolition of the United States as a sovereign nation.
There will be no immigration problem
between the U.S. and Mexico under this agreement, because
the border between the U.S. and Mexico will be as
superfluous as the border between Missouri and Arkansas.
This means all talk about "reforming" our
immigration laws is disingenuous. It is political talk
designed for upcoming elections.
- A
National ID Bill Masquerading as Immigration Reform by
Rep. Ron Paul
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
4 July 1776: -- He has endeavoured to prevent the
population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the
Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others
to encourage their migration hither, and raising the
conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
U.S. Constitution: Article I, Section 8, Clause 4: To
establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws
on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
Background
on this Clause of the Constitution
The Democrat Party Radio Address:
- Convening a national summit on children.
A Libertarian Response to Democrats:
- All the considerations of the Democrats are
unconstitutional -- they are beyond the powers given to
the federal government by "We the People"
through our Constitution. Families, not the government,
are the best caretakers of children.
Click here
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Virtual Town Hall