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The Situation Room
President Bush Addresses Nation on Illegal Immigration
Aired May 15, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time.
Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you tonight's top stories.
Happening now: It's 7:00 p.m. here in Washington, where, just an hour from now, President Bush will speak to the nation and announce plans to send thousands of troops to the Mexican border. Is he raising the stakes in the battle over illegal immigration?
It's 4:00 p.m. in the southwestern corner of the United States, where fences can stretch only so far. We will take you live to a part of the border where would-be immigrants swim, surf, and paddle their way across.
And, as the immigration debate heats up, I will get some sharply differing views from Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy and Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
He's taking heat from both sides in the battle over the borders. Now President Bush is getting ready to take his case to the American public. You're looking at a live picture of the White House. An hour from now, we will take you inside, to the Oval Office, where Mr. Bush will address the nation on immigration. The president won't shy away from controversy. He's set to announce plans to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to the border with Mexico.
Lou Dobbs will join us for our special coverage here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
In fact, Lou is walking in right now.
Lou, what do you expect to hear from the president?
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Well, Wolf, I believe the president tonight will try to put forward at least a modest proposal, if you will, on securing the border, with an estimated 6,000 National Guard troops. The details are -- are remarkably thin at this point.
And he's going to reiterate, again, that we are, indeed, a nation of laws, as well as a nation of immigrants, and is going to take the opportunity to talk about the importance of immigration, the role that these people, illegal aliens, play in this country, for the economy, as he would put it, rather than for the illegal employers themselves.
He's also going to address illegal employers, and that will be an important part of his comments as well.
BLITZER: Lou is going to be with us throughout the entire hour, leading up to the president's speech. He will have a special edition of "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" after the president's speech, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
CNN's John Roberts is joining us for some reaction from the border states. Jamie McIntyre is over at the Pentagon on word of the troop deployment.
But let's go to Suzanne Malveaux. She is over at the White House with some early word on what the president will say an hour from now -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as you know, President Bush, of course, has invested a lot of political capital in this issue. Really, it's the only domestic issue from the Oval Office prime time. And, so, it really speaks to just how important this issue is.
We're told it's going to be about 17 minutes in length. He's been practicing today what he's going to say -- this president under incredible amount of pressure from conservatives of his own party to get tough when it comes to border control. That is going to be the centerpiece of this address this evening.
The president is going to say, on border security: "Despite the progress, we do not yet have full control of the border. And I'm determined to change that. Tonight, I'm calling on Congress to provide funding for dramatic improvements in manpower and technology at the border."
One of those ideas that he will talk about, a dramatic plan to deploy National Guard troops along the border for support, for logistics and surveillance, while they try to beef up the Border Patrol itself.
Also, of course, a second highlight of this, he is going to call for his guest-worker program, making the case that you have got to have this program in order to enforce the border, to show that you can actually allocate your resources in an effective way.
He is going to say very strongly that he is against amnesty, talking on his critics head on, saying, "We must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants are already here. They should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is amnesty, and I oppose it. Amnesty would be unfair to those who are here lawfully, and it would invite further waves of illegal immigration."
But Wolf, he will go on to talk about the guest-worker program, that it's important that at least some of those immigrants be allowed to stay and earn their citizenship -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Suzanne, Lou has a question for you.
DOBBS: Suzanne, why is the president connecting the guest-worker program -- we have a guest-worker program already -- it's called a visa system. We have about four million -- a backlog of about four million people trying to get into this country. Why is this president connecting the guest-worker program to an independent national security issue, that is, the security of our borders, control of our borders and our ports?
MALVEAUX: Essentially, Lou, there are two groups that this president is catering to this evening, the Hispanic immigrant population, which he has made incredible inroads, when it comes to voter support, and the other group, the conservative Republicans, who say, we want you to get tough on the border.
He needs the conservative Republicans for the midterm election. Otherwise, we don't know whether or not they will keep the majorities in the House and the Senate. So, he is, of course, throwing them a bone, but he is also looking to the Hispanic community, and essentially saying: I do not believe that the -- that the policy, as it stands now, is a humane policy. I believe that we need to change it.
BLITZER: Suzanne, stand by. Lou and I will get back to you shortly.
Let's go over to the Pentagon right now. What role will U.S. troops play along the border with Mexico?
Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is joining us with details -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Pentagon sources tell CNN that what the president will announce, just about an hour from now, is that up to 6,000 National Guard troops will be made available to the border states, to -- to help shore up the border with Mexico.
But they will scrupulously avoid any law enforcement activity, providing, instead, mostly administrative, logistical, and surveillance backup. These troops, specifically, will not be involved in apprehending illegal aliens, detaining them, or even guarding them in any way. They will not have responsibility for that.
Of course, part of the criticism is that U.S. troops are already overstretched. But the Pentagon argues that, A, this deployment will be just temporary, until more border security personnel are hired to beef up the civilian force, and they say that the strain on the National Guard has eased over the last year.
Just in August of last year, 40,000 Guard troops were on duty in Iraq, making up 35 percent of the force. That's down to 17,000 now. They say they can probably accomplish this by simply rotating forces in and out -- Lou.
DOBBS: (AUDIO GAP) 6,000 moving to the troop, if the president -- his advisers are correct in the number he will put forward.
Those 6,000 troops, if they are not there to apprehend or detain, but simply work in support, will still leave security at the border woefully inadequate.
MCINTYRE: Well, I think the -- the argument is going to be over the 6,000 number, because it's going to be -- eventually, they are going to have 6,000 additional Border Patrol, or -- or security forces on the -- on the border. And the question is, is that enough?
And I think what you are seeing is a hesitancy by the Pentagon to have U.S. military in a direct law enforcement role, if -- when they believe the proper role is to provide support, and let the civilian law enforcement take the lead.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thank you very much.
How much are political considerations weighing into the president's plan to send National Guard troops to the border? Some governors of states along the U.S.-Mexican border support the president's plan.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he's partly for the idea. Yet, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico says he's concerned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: What I don't want is for the National Guard to be used for political reasons, to show the Republican right wing that the president is tough on illegal immigration. The way the president can be tough and all of us is be tough is to use more Border Patrol agents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Our senior national correspondent, John Roberts, is here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
John, you have been checking with all these border states. And you get different answers from various governors. And they don't fall along party lines.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, up until about two hours ago, we were getting the same answer from the governor of New Mexico and the governor of California, both of them against the idea of putting the National Guard on the border, believing that the National Guard has already been stretched too thin, because of duty in Iraq. And what happens if there is a -- a natural disaster or some sort of crisis in the state, forest fires in New Mexico, perhaps fires or landslides, earthquakes, floods in California?
What do you do then? Just about anything. They want to have the National Guard there at their disposal. They don't want them on the border for, as Governor Richardson believes, some political purpose. But Governor Schwarzenegger, I guess probably -- I don't know if he received a phone call or something -- but he changed his tune substantially, saying: Well, I'm only against putting the National Guard on the border if it's permanent.
Well, of course, the president has never said it's going to be permanent. It's going to be temporary, whatever his idea of temporary is. And now Governor Schwarzenegger is saying: I think it's in a step in the right direction. It's a good start. We believe that this is the beginning of a sound immigration policy.
And, then, also remember that the governor of New Mexico, Janet Napolitano -- of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, and Governor Rick Perry of Texas, who was President Bush's lieutenant governor when he was there, they are both on the same page, saying, this is what we have been asking for, for a long time. We are glad to see it happen.
DOBBS: Yes, depending on what it is. And, in this case, if it's 6,000 National Guard troops in support of the Border Patrol, that's simply not going to get it done. To see Schwarzenegger change his view, of course...
ROBERTS: Well, that would be three -- three per mile along the border.
DOBBS: Just about three per mile, if we didn't do eight-hour shifts over five days.
But the -- the -- the idea that this would be a fig leaf, an artifice for political consumption tonight, I personally think, Wolf, would be an absolute disaster for the president.
BLITZER: Well, do think it is?
DOBBS: I -- I won't prejudge it. But, based on the few details we have right now, it seems less than a robust broth for public consumption, certainly with the details that we have seen to this point.
ROBERTS: Governor Richardson certainly thinks that the president is, as Suzanne Malveaux said, trying to throw a bone to conservatives in his party, 31 percent of whom, in recent polls, have said they don't care if the Democrats take over Congress, and also to the Hispanic vote.
Both constituents he needs if -- if the party is to retain control of Congress.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: There are some really important elements to consider.
One is a bone to the base, or the conservatives. One is, survey after survey shows the American people want those borders secure. This is not about the base. This is about the American people. And -- and, secondly, the idea that, as Suzanne Malveaux suggested the White House thinking is, there is a Hispanic-American community out there that is in monolithically in favor of illegal immigration and open borders is mindlessly naive and conveys a lack of understanding about the politics -- the politics of the country.
BLITZER: Hold -- hold those thoughts.
John, thank you very much.
I want Jack Cafferty to weigh in as well. He's watching all of this unfold from New York -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Wolf.
So, President Bush wants to station the National Guard along the Mexican border. Really? For how long, and with what instructions? The National Guard, as John mentioned, already stretched extremely thin, thanks to the war in Iraq. Remember Katrina? Hurricane season is a few weeks away.
And what are these Guardspeople going to be doing? They aren't going to be allowed to arrest or detain illegal aliens. Instead, they are going to do things like construction, transportation, answer phones.
Sounds good, right? Well, I don't know how good it sounds. But we obviously can't leave them there indefinitely. And then what, well, when -- when they leave?
More than anything else, the president's proposal is a political and public-relations Band-Aid, designed to placate the public, which has had a bellyful of illegal aliens, and, in the process, hopefully do something for President Bush's dismal job-approval numbers. The National Guard troops have to be fed and paid and given time off and things like that.
Instead, how about a couple of parallel 20-foot-high electric fences, with land mines on both sides and in between them? As I recall, the Iron Curtain was a fairly effective way of preventing people from crossing borders they weren't supposed to cross.
Here's the question: Is the National Guard the right answer to securing the U.S. border with Mexico permanently? You can e-mail your thoughts to caffertyfile@CNN.com. Or you can go to CNN.com/caffertyfile.
And this -- this must be a big night for you, Lou. It's our -- first time in our SITUATION ROOM for you, isn't it?
DOBBS: It is delightful to -- to be with you and to Wolf and all of our colleagues here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
BLITZER: You can look at Jack right there.
DOBBS: Hello, Jack. I'm -- I'm not used to this, being surrounded by particularly your image.
(LAUGHTER)
DOBBS: But -- but a pleasure to be with you.
CAFFERTY: Well, that's one of the reasons your ratings are as good as they are, Lou.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: All right, guys.
DOBBS: I hadn't thought about that.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Jack and Lou. I -- I suspect they know each other quite well.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Our special coverage of the president's address continues.
Coming up, Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman Tom Tancredo -- guess what? They disagree. But they will be casting votes on any new legislation. They're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Plus, live on the border -- we will take you live to Laredo, Texas, and San Diego, California, where people are dealing with illegal immigration every day.
And, in our "Strategy Session," what does President Bush need to do to rally his conservative base without alienating moderates and Latino voters? James Carville and Torie Clarke, they are standing by to join us live.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: As President Bush gets ready to announce plans to send thousands of troops to the Mexican border, the border battle is heating up right here on Capitol Hill.
Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts is the senior Democrat on the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Senator, thanks very much...
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Thank you.
BLITZER: ... for coming in.
I don't sense there's a whole lot of daylight between you and the president right now when it comes to immigration reform legislation. Am I right?
KENNEDY: Well, I think the president deserves credit for the courage of speaking about immigration. He was a border state governor. He has a special understanding of this. And to have his involvement on this issue now, particularly in support for a comprehensive program, will make an enormous difference.
We have a strong bipartisan effort here going in the United States Senate. It remind me of the times that the Senate really acted, whether it was on civil rights or Medicare or the Medicaid or higher education. It was this kind of a coalition that we had in those times.
We have that coalition now. The president can really, with his intervention and with his support, can make a very important difference in bringing the House and Senate together and do something that is going to be strong in terms of guarding our borders, strong in terms of enforcement, but also recognize that so many of those that are here are prepared to pay a penalty, to work hard to be a part of the whole American dream, to serve in the armed forces of our country, to obey the law and -- as other immigrants -- to be devoted American citizens.
BLITZER: So, it seems, on this issue, President Kennedy (sic) and Senator Kennedy pretty much on the same page.
Listen to what the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, told me yesterday on this notion of deploying thousands of National Guard troops to the border:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LATE EDITION")
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: The only thing that we can do to secure our borders right now is to give our states help -- and that is best done through the National Guard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: We are -- we're hearing from our senior Pentagon correspondent that could be about 6,000 National Guard troops. How do you feel about that?
KENNEDY: Well, let me just put it in a context.
First of all, I think all of us understand -- I'm a member of the Armed Services Committee -- that the National Guard has performed so extraordinarily in Iraq and also in Afghanistan. Many of them have had two tours, and some even three.
So, they have really been -- been away from their families for a long period of time.
Secondly, even my state today, we're having very significant flooding up in Peabody and the Merrimack Valley. And we're using -- our governor has called up the National Guard. We're going to have National Guard responsibilities in states, fires in the West, hurricanes in the South and perhaps even the East. So, there will be a very important need for the National Guard.
The third part of it is, we will have to know what the National Guard is going to do in the border areas. Are they going to be in the front-line border security, where we will then have to know about the rules of engagement and what kind of training? Or are they going to be in a support?
Are they going to be there just temporarily, until we get this legislation passed, which will mean 12,000 new border guards that will have some 15 weeks of training, and the kind of training in terms of border security?
I mean, this as we're investing in 12,000 more new Border Patrol, but it will take some time.
We have to know more about this program, but we also ought to recognize that short-term solutions aren't going to be the answer. It's going to be the kind of commitment that we have in the current legislation that has bipartisan support that Senator McCain and I support in the United States Senate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Senator Kennedy went on to say that amnesty means that all is forgiven and they can go to the front of the line. "That's not what we're suggesting," he said. "That's not what the legislation says."
Lou, like the president, he insists, this deal does not include amnesty.
DOBBS: And, as you correctly implied in your question, there isn't much daylight between the president and Senator Kennedy, or certainly Senator McCain, on this issue.
But the fact remains that these illegal aliens in this country, 12 million to 20 million of them, under the -- under the structure of this deal in the -- in the Senate, would not have to leave. They would be effectively playing a $2,000 fine, saying, sorry about -- not even saying, I'm sorry about the laws we have broken, and putting four million to six million people, crowing four million to six million people who are in a legal chain a process to immigrate to this country. And that is just patently wrong.
BLITZER: So, when -- tonight, when the president says -- and he will specifically say...
DOBBS: Right.
BLITZER: ... this is not amnesty, you don't buy it?
DOBBS: I don't buy it. I don't think anyone watching and listening to us buys it who is taking a -- a clear-eyed view at this. And, further, the idea that a guest-worker program is even reasonably -- can be construed as necessary -- wages in this country, at the lowest end of the wage scale, are, in point of fact, declining. In economics, that means there isn't a deficit of labor, which would necessitate a guest-worker program. There's a surplus.
There has to be some intelligence analysis. And the president and Senator Frist, the majority leader in the Senate, have put an extraordinarily expeditious and perhaps capricious deadline of saying, we're going to have legislation by Memorial Day. There just isn't the rational urgency there for that deadline.
BLITZER: Quite -- quite a coalition, though -- and we are going to pick this up later -- of...
DOBBS: Oh, absolutely.
BLITZER: ... of odd couples, if you will, Kennedy and McCain, and Frist, and Bush. They are all basically on the same page.
(CROSSTALK)
DOBBS: Corporate America and special interests and...
BLITZER: We will -- we will get to that.
We are keeping an eye on the Oval Office right now -- the president set to address the nation about 38, 39 minutes or so from now.
Our special coverage will continue. We will also get some other very different voices on the issue. Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas, they are standing by to join us live.
Also, will tonight's address heal the Republican divide? James Carville and Torie Clarke, they are live in THE SITUATION ROOM as well.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're back in THE SITUATION ROOM. Lou Dobbs is here with us tonight. We are going to ready for the president's address to the nation -- much more of our coverage coming up.
Other important news happening, though, right now.
Let's check in briefly with Zain Verjee. She's at the CNN Center with more -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the captain of Duke's lacrosse team is adamant. He says he did not rape a dancer at an off- campus party at his house last month. Nor, he insists, did any of his teammates. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID EVANS, DEFENDANT: First, I want to say that I'm absolutely innocent of all the charges that have been brought against me today, that Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty are innocent of all the charges that were brought against them.
These allegations are lies, fabricated and -- fabricated. And they will be proven wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: Lacrosse captain Dave Evans says he passed a lie- detector test given by a senior FBI agent. But a North Carolina grand jury indicted Evans this morning on charges of raping, assaulting and kidnapping a 27-year-old woman. The charges came one day after Evans graduated from Duke. Teammates Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty were charged last month.
The heaviest rains in a decade have sent floodwaters rushing through parts of three New England states. Thousands of people in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire have been forced from their homes. And there's no relief in sight. More rain is expected tonight and tomorrow. Officials in all three states have declared emergencies.
The State Department will restore full diplomatic relations with Libya for the first time in 27 years. The U.S. will also remove Libya from a list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Libyan leaders are accused of ordering an attack on Pan Am Flight 103 that killed 270 people, most of them Americans, in 1988. The wife of one victim is calling today a sad day for human rights.
And millions of Americans have only hours to sign up for Medicare's prescription drug plan, or face penalties. The plan requires seniors to choose from a variety of competing plans. The program has been criticized for being too confusing and too expensive -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much.
In advance of the president's immigration speech tonight, we have sent CNN reporters to some key areas in the border battle.
Bill Tucker is in Laredo, Texas. Chris Lawrence is along the border between San Diego and Tijuana.
Let's go over to Bill first.
What's going on there?
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot of amusement and a little bit of a -- sort of amazement by the local law enforcement police chiefs here and the sheriff in the county, Webb County, because they have been asking for help. They have been asking for resources, Wolf. And then they got it. And they said they -- nobody ever called them up.
Nobody in the federal government ever came down and said, what do you need? They are looking at a plan they have had no consultations on. And they are not getting the resources, ironically, that they have been asking for.
DOBBS: Bill Tucker, the idea that, sitting in Laredo, across from Nuevo Laredo, where more than 100 people have been killed, a couple of police chiefs murdered -- one just resigned -- it would seem to me that those -- those folks would appreciate any kind of help, perhaps not the help they had in mind, but I would think that they would be thrilled to have any kind of help.
TUCKER: Well, they are very grateful that somebody is finally paying attention to what's going on, on these borders. And they are going to welcome the resources. The question is, how do they work with these resources, and what do they do with them?
They have been asking for better communications. They have been asking for more hires with the Border Patrol, more boots on the ground here coordinating. Their complaint is: We will take the -- we will take the help. We will take the resources, but couldn't somebody have talked to us first?
BLITZER: All right, Bill, thank you very much.
I want to show our viewers the live pictures we are getting in from the border. We have live pictures coming in from Laredo, Texas, Lou, El Paso, Texas, San Diego County in California, Phoenix.
In fact, our own Chris Lawrence is not far away from San Diego. He's along the border between San Diego and Tijuana, one very, very interesting corner of America.
Chris, tell our viewers where you are.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we are standing in Border Field State Park. Just over the fence is Mexico, and about 100 yards down the hill, the Pacific Ocean, where we took a boat ride up and down the coast to see what the Border Patrol is facing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: The thing about the California border is, there is an obvious way to get across it, without having to avoid any land patrols whatsoever.
And it's right here, in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Mexico. That is the fence that divides the two countries. And, depending on the tide, it can be as little as 50 yards into the water.
Border Patrol agents tell me they've seen illegal immigrants try to come across on surf boards, canoes. Just about if it floats, they try it. Border Patrol agents tell me there are cases where immigrants will try to literally walk north through the water at night, literally riding the waves, trying to conceal their movement. But in some ways, this crossing can be even more dangerous than coming through the desert, in that the water is cold, and, there are some pretty vicious rip currents out here, as well.
Just goes to show you, if you are talking about securing the border, you have to remember that the border did not stop at the shoreline.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: In fact, the fence should continue well out into the water, but as you can see, it's fallen apart to the point where there is a gaping hole. The Border Patrol has been waiting on more federal money to fix the fence. But in the meantime, it makes securing the border that much harder. Wolf?
BLITZER: Chris Lawrence, thank you very much. Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado is one of the most outspoken if not the most outspoken member of Congress on this issue of immigration. He's joining Lou and me here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Lou, why don't you ask the first question?
DOBBS: You are you without question the earliest and most outspoken advocate to secure our borders and to control illegal immigration.
REP. TOM TANCREDO, (R) CO: You've been there awhile.
DOBBS: I have been there a while. But credit where it's due, and the fact is, the president tonight is going to speak. How hopeful are you? Do you expect a sincere statement of national purpose on the part of this president?
TANCREDO: I hope for it. What I expect is that there's going to be something that tries to touch a lot of bases. Certainly, securing the border. But what I fear is that he's going to attach this, somehow, someway, to this Senate plan to give amnesty to the 12, however many million illegal aliens are in the country.
BLITZER: He denies that's amnesty, the president.
TANCREDO: Exactly. I keep sending him the dictionary. You can actually look and see what it means, and I guarantee you, when you tell somebody they've broken the law, but we will forgive you for doing so, you can stay here you will even though you have broken the law to come into this country, that is amnesty and I don't care how you try to gloss it over. And if he tries to marry these two things, then we're going to have a big problem. Because, in fact, we had Simpson-Mazzoli, you remember ...
DOBBS: Sure.
TANCREDO: ... same thing happened. We had a guest worker plan that was going to end all ...
DOBBS: Twenty years ago. TANCREDO: Twenty years ago. All we got was the guest worker plan ...
DOBBS: Congressman -- what do you do with the 12, or whatever number millions of people who are here?
TANCREDO: It's called attrition. Not amnesty. What you do -- I know this is going to sound radical, a wild approach, but then I guess that's my rap. Let's try this. Enforce the law. I mean -- if we actually enforce the law, especially against employers who are hiring people that are coming here illegally, you begin to attrit. People go home.
BLITZER: You think people will voluntarily leave? You agree with that?
TANCREDO: They won't have a job.
DOBBS: You know as we all do that this Congress, these two parties, yours and the Democratic parties both are in corporate interests. Corporate interests and special interests are driving the illegal immigration in this country. And the likelihood for there being a responsible response for what is a serious crisis both in border security and illegal immigration is all but negligible.
The Republican strategists are saying they're trying to isolate the Tom Tancredo's of their party. That's the kind of language we're hearing, rather than deal with the problem that you have been focusing on for years.
TANCREDO: And what are they going to do, isolate the 75 percent of Americans who want us to do what our bill in the House -- by the way, Lou, we did pass a pretty good bill in December. It is focused on enforcement only. Now, the Senate is where we have got the problem. And I asked them the same question. Every senator I come up to and I happen to see, at any time, I always say, who are you listening to? How many people are calling your office, saying, I demand to have ...
BLITZER: Hold on one second. I want to read to you -- This is a poll, Lou is familiar with this CNN poll we did this month which asks the question about amnesty for illegal immigrants in the U.S. who have been here for more than five years. Seventy two percent say they favor amnesty, 25 percent say they oppose it. If this is accurate, you're clearly in the minority.
TANCREDO: That is absolutely -- I don't know where those number come from because I guarantee you -- and a lot depends on how you ask a question ...
DOBBS: Let me give you other numbers. In point of fact, nearly 70 percent of all Americans say without reservation they want the borders secured. Approximately 70 percent of all Americans say they want illegal immigration to end. Those are -- those are the issues. We have done polls on our broadcast, not scientific, but I will guarantee that you the American people in large measure and numbers will resist any program that doesn't deal with a real fix. The last thing they are going to want, in my opinion, is more politics.
BLITZER: I want to give you the final thought. But let me read to you what the exact question was. "Would you favor or oppose a bill that would give amnesty to illegal immigrants who have been in this country for more than five years if they have a job, and pay back taxes.
TANCREDO: Right. You know, and if you say to them, on the other hand, "Do you favor giving amnesty to the people that have broken the law and putting them in front of everyone else that has done it the right way in line for citizenship, which these bills do, the numbers change quite dramatically.
DOBBS: President Bush doesn't watch polls and doesn't listen to them. He is guiding policy without reference to them. I'm sure this is of ...
BLITZER: I'm sure Karl Rove watches polls.
DOBBS: ... no interest whatsoever.
BLITZER: We have got to leave it there. Congressman Tancredo, thanks for coming in. Appreciate it.
And still ahead, President Bush live from the Oval Office. He will speak on immigration. Our special coverage continues. Up next, we'll get a very different perspective from Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas, she is the daughter of an illegal immigrant, now living out the American dream. We will take a closer look at what the president needs to do to hang on to Latino voters in this country.
And playing to the base. How will tonight's speech go over with conservatives? James Carville and Torie Clarke, they are standing by to join us live in your "Strategy Session." Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. We're here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Lou Dobbs is here as well. Lou, I want to point out to our viewers, that president seal you see, that's the feed coming in from the White House. Once the president speaks in the Oval Office, a minute or so after 8:00 p.m. Eastern, that will become the picture we will see live from the Oval Office. And we are only minutes away, less than 20 minutes, about 20 minutes away from the president's address to the nation on immigration reform. He's expected to dispatch National Guard troops to the border. We just heard from Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo who has been a fierce opponent of the president's on this issue.
Joining us now with a different perspective is Maria Elena Salinas. She is the daughter of an illegal immigrant who has lived out the American dream in this country. She is now a top network news anchor at Univision. She is also the author of the book, "I Am My Father's Daughter." Maria, thanks very much for joining us.
MARIA ELENA SALINAS, UNIVISION ANCHOR: Hello.
BLITZER: What is the single most important thing you would like to hear from the president tonight?
SALINAS: Well, one of the things I would like to hear from the president is what exactly the National Guard going to do? I think that the president has really a very difficult time this evening. I think he's got a juggling act that he has to perform on the one hand, he has to not only try to please Hispanic voters but also put out his own plan, a plan that he has always been supportive of.
I've been listening to him talk about immigration for several years now. I interviewed him a week before September 11th, 2001 about immigration. And he hasn't really changed his mind. He's always been against amnesty and in favor of some kind of a guest worker program. Tonight, he's going to try to support that position, to continue to support the same position he's had, and at the same time, is going to try to please the more conservative view on immigration.
So, what I would like to hear, what I think that most Latinos would like to hear is, how is he going to convince Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives to bring about legislation that is not only enforceable and realistic, but also humane, and what is he going to do with thousands of national guardsmen at the border. What will be their job?
DOBBS: Maria Elena, you said, Hispanic, most Latino voters. You speak as though you think the Hispanic audience in this country, Hispanic voters are monolithic and are committed to illegal immigration, and amnesty. What makes you think so?
SALINAS: Well, I do not think they are monolithic. We have a lot of data to suggest that. We have a lot of data to suggest that, as a matter of fact. You know the marches of May 1st, there were over -- almost 81 percent thought it was a big success ...
DOBBS: Eighty percent of whom?
SALINAS: ... ninety five percent of people participated -- Of Latinos. Talking about Latino immigrants. You just asked me about Latino voters. We also have data that 80 percent of Latino voters feel that ...
DOBBS: You see this is as a racial issue, then.
SALINAS: No, I was trying to answer your question. Eighty percent of Latino voters support the immigration proposal that is being discussed in the Senate at this time.
DOBBS: What about border security?
SALINAS: Whether this is a racial issue of not, I think, really when you start looking at the information, there are over half of Latinos in this country who do feel that this is a personal attack on their families, and we're talking about people who are American citizens and who are legal residents. They do believe this does affect them, even if they are not undocumented immigrants. And one of the things that we are seeing is definitely an increase in the amount of complaints about discrimination, about racial profiling and on hate crimes because of the tone of this issue that is a very emotional issue.
BLITZER: You know, Lou, as Maria Elena says that, the White House, Karl Rove, Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican Party, they have worked very hard over these years to bring in the Latino community into the Republican Party.
DOBBS: They did pretty well. Forty-four percent of the vote in 2004.
BLITZER: They fear this issue could let that slip away.
DOBBS: I think it's misplaced fear. And I really think that what Maria Elena is suggesting wrongheaded. The idea that Hispanic Americans in this country are committed to illegal immigration and open borders and not as concerned as any other Americans, any group of Americans about border security, is absolutely absurd.
SALINAS: It's not ill-headed and it's not absurd. I'm telling you facts. It's a fact. There is data to suggest that more than 80 percent of Hispanics in this country that are legal immigrants and that are citizens do feel this way. There's data suggest that. Of course there is 20 percent of them that don't. I'm not saying that the information I am providing reflects the view of all immigrants, of all Latinos in this country. But certainly, 80 percent is a great majority. And I think it's not necessarily that they are for illegal immigration. Basically they think that there should be some kind of road to legalization ...
DOBBS: How about the issue of border security itself?
SALINAS: And I think that border security is also an important for all of us, whether we are American citizens, whether we are legal residents. I think to everyone in this country border security is -- you can support both after the same time, and it's not contradictory. You can be for security at the border, and you can also be for legalizing undocumented immigrants.
DOBBS: Here is what you can't do, Maria Elena. You cannot reform immigration if you can't control it. And you can't control immigration if you can't control your borders and secure them.
SALINAS: That is why Congress has a very big job ahead of them. Because they have to try to do both things. And that's one of the things that President Bush is going to tell members of the Senate, first and foremost, because they are the ones that are going to be discussing the new legislation this week and the next couple of weeks, and then, of course, members of the House of Representatives, that is controlled by his own party. So, the president really has a very difficult job ahead of him in trying to perform this juggling act to the best of his abilities.
DOBBS: On that, we agree. BLITZER: Maria Elena, on that note of agreement, I'm going to let you go. I know you have a broadcast you have to worry about as well. Maria Elena Salinas, thanks very much.
SALINAS: Thank you.
BLITZER: Lou, why is it, since there are illegal immigrants who cross that 3,000 mile border from Canada into the United States, troops aren't being sent to the border with Canada, only being sent to the border with Mexico?
DOBBS: Well, let's see. Maybe it's because across -- just about, little over 2,000 miles of the border with Mexico, about 3 million illegal aliens cross that. Most of them from Mexico. And the rest from Central America. The preponderance. And across a 5,000 mile border with Canada, about 40,000 people a year. So it's a different scale of problem. And quite a difference of issue.
And it's interesting because there's sort of this political correctness attitude in the country that if you are worried about your southern border, you better be worried about your northern border. The cooperation of the Canadian government is exemplary. We work in partnership to control that border.
The relationship with Mexico, and this president wants to look past this. But our relationship with Mexico is such that the Mexican government does nothing to control that border. Period.
BLITZER: Lou, stand by. We are only, what, less than 15 minutes away from the president's address to the nation.
Up next, catering to the base. Republicans divided. Can the president unite the party? James Carville and Torie Clarke, they are standing by live for our "Strategy Session" Lou will be here as well. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Jack Cafferty's in New York with "The Cafferty File." Jack?
CAFFERTY: Thanks, Wolf. Ahead of the president's speech, the question is, is the National Guard the right answer to securing the U.S. border with Mexico permanently?"
Jenna in Owenton, Kentucky writes, "The only way the National Guard would help is if they were allowed to capture, detain and deport illegals crossing the border. But are they going to be able to do that? No. Can anyone say, more of the same?"
Joy in Santa Fe, New Mexico. "No to sending the National Guard. Yes to a fence. Yes to landmines. Yes to sending back the illegal immigrants, no to amnesty."
Frank in Oregon, "I would imagine for President Bush anything that dodges the root problem of our corporations hiring illegal immigrants in the first place is the right answer."
Michael in West Columbia, South Carolina, "Mr. Cafferty, the military is not the answer. There is a federal agency whose sole mission is border security. Fund them, give them the manning, give them the equipment and let them do the job. If we allow a president to call out the military inside America because he refuses to fund a civilian agency, we may as well get rid of all law enforcement and make America a police state."
D. in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. "I was just sitting here thinking about a fence with 10,000 volts running through it and how no one would ever have the guts to do it, let alone suggest it. By the way, land mines? Nice touch."
And John in Kernersville, North Carolina. "Of course it's the right thing to do, then in two weeks President Bush can stand in front of the border and proclaim 'Mission Accomplished.'"
Gentlemen?
BLITZER: Very clever viewers. You don't have those kind of clever viewers, Lou, on your show, do you?
DOBBS: Oh we have very clever viewers. And obviously some of them sharing time with Jack Cafferty. Jack, who selected that last e- mail? That was my particular favorite.
CAFFERTY: I did.
DOBBS: Excellent. Good work, partner.
BLITZER: We're only minutes away from the president's Oval Office address on immigration. It's an issue that has divided the Republican Party. Will his new plan help unite conservatives behind him? James Carville and Torie Clarke, they are standing by for our "Strategy Session."
Much more coming up. The president speaks in less than 10 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're only about six minutes away from the president's speech on immigration. Let's bring in our CNN political analysts, Democratic strategist James Carville, former Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke. Lou is here, as well. James, for the president to hit a home run tonight, what does he need to do?
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Honestly, even I would like to put expectations as high as I possibly could on the White House and the president. I don't think that -- I think they would be doggone glad to get out there with just a line drive single. And ...
BLITZER: Really?
CARVILLE: Yes. And I think if they were able to get three, four points on the approval rating, I think ...
DOBBS: This man is messing with prime-time programming, offending Oprah fans, and you think a line-drive single, Torie, can he ...
CARVILLE: I don't think -- a home run is not in the cards here tonight.
TORIE CLARKE, FORMER PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON: I know it's going to enhance the way people think about his speech tonight as long as he ends well before "24" starts.
DOBBS: I would agree with that 100 percent
CLARKE: But I think one of the first things he ought to say is look, this problem did not pop up overnight, it is not going to end overnight. And it will take a long time. I hope in the beginning of the speech he begins to manage expectations.
DOBBS: Do you really believe this president, talking about, we have a problem at the border, is something he just discovered since taking office, in 2001?
CLARKE: You know from covering this as extensively as you have, this isn't the first time he's talked about it, this is the first time ....
DOBBS: If something happens it will be the first time anything's been done about it. It is remarkable -- We have fewer agents today, trying to enforce internal immigration law than when he became president. We have at the border, more, even though he's raised funding for the Border Patrol, more illegal aliens crossing the border. What it's it going to take?
CLARKE: And as you know it's not about one person or just a president. It's a national problem. It's going to take the presidency, it's going to take Congress.
BLITZER: The Democrats are pretty much on board. Kennedy is on this show, THE SITUATION ROOM, with the president, when it comes to the proposals he's putting forward.
CARVILLE: In terms like, people have been here for awhile, according to our poll 72 percent of American people are there. If you look at what's happened to employer sanctions sentence President Bush took office, they have dropped like 400 percent since President Clinton was there.
DOBBS: Well, it's even more than that. They are down to four ...
CARVILLE: Well, whatever. Down to four. It's been a drop off. Anybody that's studied this will tell you, not the jobs here, they're not coming. I mean, somebody's not going to come here, if there's no work. And the reason to come here is because Lou Dobbs is right, they come here because the companies hire them, and they continue to come because these corporations run Washington.
DOBBS: Both parties. Democrats and Republicans. And you guys have a hard time understanding that. But there are some folks out there listening to you right now, all of us, they are middle class, hard working Americans, and they are the only people, your parties aren't representing them right now.
CARVILLE: I wouldn't say that.
DOBBS: I would and I do.
CLARKE: I think it's a gross and unfair oversimplification of a very complex problem that's been going on for a long time. It's not going to be solved by a person or ...
DOBBS: Oh no, you wouldn't want a president to step forward exercise leadership. You wouldn't what a Congress to take responsibility ...
CARVILLE: There is a party that controls three branches of government. We wouldn't want them to take responsibility for it. We'd say gee ...
BLITZER: Torie, put on your old Pentagon hat for a second.
Sending 6,000 National Guard troops to the borer with Mexico, is that just a facade or is there something substantive that's going to happen as a result of that?
CLARKE: Look, it's a clear recognition that border security is part of national security, but again, and I hope we manage this ...
DOBBS: This is a ...
CLARKE: We're not interrupting you. Don't interrupt us.
DOBBS: Go ahead. You interrupt me.
CLARKE: This is one part of a broader, comprehensive plan. It's a fraction of the National Guard overall and anyone who says the National Guard can only be used in the wake of natural disasters doesn't understand the National Guard as part of a total force concept.
DOBBS: Now let me ask you a question.
CLARKE: Yes, sir.
DOBBS: Is this government, run as James said, run in the Republican Party in all three branches here ...
CLARKE: Sure ...
DOBBS: Is it in the business of fixing a problem? Because I don't see a fix here. I see a lot of rhetoric, I see proposals and plans and negotiations and compromises, but I don't see a fix. CLARKE: When you have people as diverse as Senator Kennedy standing up and saying, we're embracing what the president is trying to get done here, I think that's pretty significant, a very, very positive sign.
BLITZER: Give us the last word, James.
CARVILLE: A lot of -- one point I do want to make about politics tonight is we have a Mexican election and this could have a huge effect on that. I think that is something we are going to have to watch coming up.
BLITZER: We don't want Hugo Chavez on the southern border.
CARVILLE: Right.
BLITZER: Guys, thanks very much. Let's get some other perspective. Jeff Greenfield, our senior analyst, is watching all of this unfold. Give us a little sense of what the president has to do tonight, Jeff.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN ANALYST: Well, I'll give you a line that might sound good -- he might want to praise, quote, "our efforts to humanely gain control of our borders." That was said by Ronald Reagan almost 20 years ago when he signed the Simpson-Mazzoli bill that was supposed to resolve this problem by granting amnesty and punishing employers. The employers were never sanctioned. And now we have millions of more illegal immigrants.
I would also like to point out to you that the dilemma, the political dilemma is bipartisan.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And, in recent weeks, Americans have seen those emotions on display on the streets of major cities...
BLITZER: Let me interrupt for a second. I think what happened, Jeff, is that the president is rehearsing.
GREENFIELD: Right.
BLITZER: And the pool, network pool, inadvertently went to the president as he's rehearsing.
GREENFIELD: Exactly.
BLITZER: We are still about 45 seconds away from -- this is supposed to -- supposed to begin.
GREENFIELD: Just one quick point, then, if I may.
BLITZER: Very quickly, Jeff.
GREENFIELD: All right.
The -- a Democratic group, Chuck Schumer and Governor Richardson today, issued a statement attacking the Bush administration for failure to enforce, to apprehend, and to convict illegal -- illegals.
And I think that's a sign that, even among the Democratic Party, most of whose members you might think would be on the more liberal side of this, there's a clear sense, I think, that both parties are split and that, I must say, in this case, a lot of the so-called elite opinion on editorial pages, whether it's "The New York Times" on the left or "The Wall Street Journal" on the right is out of synch...
BLITZER: All right.
GREENFIELD: ... with -- with some of the rank-and-file.
BLITZER: Jeff Greenfield, stand by. We are going to come to you right after the president is done.
Lou, stand by as well.
The president of the United States now about to address the nation.
BUSH: Good evening.
I've asked for a few minutes of your time to discuss a matter of national importance: the reform of America's immigration system.
The issue of immigration stirs intense emotions, and in recent weeks, Americans have seen those emotions on display.
On the streets of major cities, crowds have rallied in support of those in our country illegally. At our southern border, others have organized to stop illegal immigrants from coming in. Across the country, Americans are trying to reconcile these contrasting images. And in Washington, the debate over immigration reform has reached a time of decision.
Tonight, I will make it clear where I stand and where I want to lead our country on this vital issue.
We must begin by recognizing the problems with our immigration system.
For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders.
As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border. And millions have stayed.
Once here, illegal immigrants live in the shadows of our society. Many use forged documents to get jobs, and that makes it difficult for employers to verify that the workers they hire are legal.
Illegal immigration puts pressure on public schools and hospitals, it strains state and local budgets and brings crime to our communities.
These are real problems, yet we must remember that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith and lead responsible lives. They are a part of American life, but they are beyond the reach and protection of American law.
We're a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws. We're also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways.
These are not contradictory goals. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time.
We will fix the problems created by illegal immigration, and we will deliver a system that is secure, orderly and fair. So I support comprehensive immigration reform that will accomplish five clear objectives.
First, the United States must secure its borders. This is a basic responsibility of a sovereign nation. It is also an urgent requirement of our national security.
Our objective is straightforward: The border should be open to trade and lawful immigration and shut to illegal immigrants, as well as criminals, drug dealers and terrorists.
I was the governor of a state that has a 1,200-mile border with Mexico, so I know how difficult it is to enforce the border and how important it is.
Since I became president, we have increased funding for border security by 66 percent and expanded the Border Patrol from about 9,000 to 12,000 agents. The men and women of our Border Patrol are doing a fine job in difficult circumstances. And over the past five years, they have apprehended and sent home about 6 million people entering America illegally.
Despite this progress, we do not yet have full control of the border, and I am determined to change that.
Tonight I am calling on Congress to provide funding for dramatic improvements in manpower and technology at the border. By the end of 2008, we will increase the number of Border Patrol officers by an additional 6,000. When these new agents are deployed, we will have more than doubled the size of the Border Patrol during my presidency.
At the same time, we are launching the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history.
We will construct high-tech fences in urban corridors and build new patrol roads and barriers in rural areas.
We will employ motion sensors, infrared cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent illegal crossings.
America has the best technology in the world and we will ensure that the Border Patrol has the technology they need to do their job and secure our border. Training thousands of new Border Patrol agents and bringing the most advanced technology to the border will take time, yet the need to secure our border is urgent.
So I'm announcing several immediate steps to strengthen border enforcement during this period of transition.
One way to help during this transition is to use the National Guard.
So in coordination with governors, up to 6,000 Guard members will be deployed to our southern border.
The Border Patrol will remain in the lead. The Guard will assist the Border Patrol by operating surveillance systems, analyzing intelligence, installing fences and vehicle barriers, building patrol roads, and providing training.
Guard units will not be involved in direct law enforcement activities; that duty will be done by the Border Patrol.
This initial commitment of Guard members would last for a period of one year. After that, the number of Guard forces will be reduced as new Border Patrol agents and new technologies come on-line.
It is important for Americans to know that we have enough Guard forces to win the war on terror, to respond to natural disasters and to help secure our border.
The United States is not going to militarize the southern border. Mexico is our neighbor and our friend. We will continue to work cooperatively to improve security on both sides of the border, to confront common problems like drug trafficking and crime, and to reduce illegal immigration.
Another way to help during this period of transition is through state and local law enforcement in our border communities. So we will increase federal funding for state and local authorities assisting the Border Patrol on targeted enforcement missions.
We will give state and local authorities the specialized training they need to help federal officers apprehend and detain illegal immigrants.
State and local law enforcement officials are an important part of our border security, and they need to be a part of our strategy to secure our borders.
The steps I have outlined will improve our ability to catch people entering our country illegally.
At the same time, we must ensure that every illegal immigrant we catch crossing our southern border is returned home. More than 85 percent of the illegal immigrants we catch crossing the southern border are Mexicans, and most are sent back home within 24 hours.
But when we catch illegal immigrants from other country, it is not as easy to send them back home.
For many years, the government did not have enough space in our detention facilities to hold them while the legal process unfolded. So most were released back into our society and asked to return for a court date. When the date arrived, the vast majority did not show up.
This practice, called "catch and release," is unacceptable. And we will end it.
We are taking several important steps to meet this goal.
We've expanded the number of beds in our detention facilities, and we will continue to add more.
We've expedited the legal process to cut the average deportation time.
And we're making it clear to foreign governments that they must accept back their citizens who violate our immigration laws.
As a result of these actions, we've ended catch and release for illegal immigrants from some countries. And I will ask Congress for additional funding and legal authority so we can end catch and release at the southern border once and for all.
When people know that they'll be caught and sent home if they enter our country illegally, they will be less likely to try to sneak in.
Second, to secure our border we must create a temporary worker program.
The reality is that there are many people on the other side of our border who will do anything to come to America to work and build a better life. They walk across miles of desert in the summer heat or hide in the back of 18-wheelers to reach our country. This creates enormous pressure on our border that walls and patrols alone will not stop.
To secure the border effectively, we must reduce the numbers of people trying to sneak across.
Therefore, I support a temporary worker program that would create a legal path for foreign workers to enter our country in an orderly way, for a limited period of time.
This program would match willing foreign workers with willing American employers for jobs Americans are not doing.
Every worker who applies for the program would be required to pass criminal background checks. And temporary workers must return to their home country at the conclusion of their stay.
A temporary worker program would meet the needs of our economy, and it would give honest immigrants a way to provide for their families while respecting the law. A temporary worker program would reduce the appeal of human smugglers and make it less likely that people would risk their lives to cross the border.
It would ease the financial burden on state and local governments, by replacing illegal workers with lawful taxpayers.
And, above all, a temporary worker program would add to our security by making certain we know who is in our country and why they are here.
Third, we need to hold employers to account for the workers they hire. It is against the law to hire someone who is in this country illegally. Yet businesses often cannot verify the legal status of their employees, because of the widespread problem of document fraud.
Therefore, comprehensive immigration reform must include a better system for verifying documents and work eligibility.
A key part of that system should be a new identification card for every legal foreign worker. This card should use biometric technology, such as digital fingerprints, to make it tamper-proof. A tamper-proof card would help us enforce the law and leave employers with no excuse for violating it.
And by making it harder for illegal immigrants to find work in our country, we would discourage people from crossing the border illegally in the first place.
Fourth, we must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants are here already.
They should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is amnesty, and I oppose it.
Amnesty would be unfair to those who are here lawfully, and it would invite further waves of illegal immigration.
Some in this country argue that the solution is to deport every illegal immigrant and that any proposal short of this amounts to amnesty. I disagree.
It is neither wise nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States, and send them across the border.
There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant and a program of mass deportation. That middle ground recognizes there are differences between an illegal immigrant who crossed the border recently and someone who has worked here for many years and has a home, a family and an otherwise clean record.
I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law -- to pay their taxes, to learn English and to work in a job for a number of years.
People who meet these conditions should be able to apply for citizenship. But approval would not be automatic, and they will have to wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law.
What I have just described is not amnesty; it is a way for those who have broken the law to pay their debt to society and demonstrate the character that makes a good citizen.
Fifth, we must honor the great American tradition of the melting pot, which has made us one nation out of many peoples.
The success of our country depends upon helping newcomers assimilate into our society, and embrace our common identity as Americans. Americans are bound together by our shared ideals, an appreciation of our history, respect for the flag we fly, and an ability to speak and write the English language.
English is also the key to unlocking the opportunity of America. English allows newcomers to go from picking crops to opening a grocery, from cleaning offices to running offices, from a life of low- paying jobs to a diploma, a career and a home of their own.
When immigrants assimilate and advance in our society, they realize their dreams, they renew our spirit and they add to the unity of America.
Tonight, I want to speak directly to members of the House and the Senate: An immigration reform bill needs to be comprehensive, because all elements of this problem must be addressed together or none of them will be solved at all.
The House has passed an immigration bill. The Senate should act by the end of this month so we can work out the differences between the two bills and Congress can pass a comprehensive bill for me to sign into law.
America needs to conduct this debate on immigration in a reasoned and respectful tone. Feelings run deep on this issue. And as we work it out, all of us need to keep some things in mind.
We cannot build a unified country by inciting people to anger or playing on anyone's fears or exploiting the issue of immigration for political gain.
We must always remember that real lives will be affected by our debates and decisions and that every human being has dignity and value, no matter what their citizenship papers say.
I know many of you listening tonight have a parent or a grandparent who came here from another country with dreams of a better life. You know what freedom meant to them, and you know that America is a more hopeful country because of their hard work and sacrifice.
As president, I have had the opportunity to meet people of many backgrounds and hear what America means to them.
On a visit to Bethesda Naval Hospital, Laura and I met a wounded Marine named Guadalupe Denogean. Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean came to the United States from Mexico when he was a boy. He spent his summers picking crops with his family, and then he volunteered for the United States Marine Corps as soon as he was able.
During the liberation of Iraq, Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean was seriously injured. And when asked if he had any requests, he made two: a promotion for the corporal who helped rescue him and the chance to become an American citizen. And when this brave Marine raised his right hand and swore an oath to become a citizen of the country he had defended for more than 26 years, I was honored to stand at his side.
We will always be proud to welcome people like Guadalupe Denogean as fellow Americans. Our new immigrants are just what they've always been: people willing to risk everything for the dream of freedom.
And America remains what she has always been: the great hope on the horizon, an open door to the future, a blessed and promised land.
We honor the heritage of all who come here, no matter where they come from, because we trust in our country's genius for making us all Americans, one nation under God.
Thank you, and good night.
BLITZER: The president of the United States speaking for just under 17 minutes, as promised, making an impassioned appeal for immigration reform, speaking directly to the American people, speaking directly to members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Our Jeff Greenfield was watching, Suzanne Malveaux.
Lou Dobbs, you were watching. You were listening oh so carefully. Give us your initial thought.
DOBBS: I think that the -- the president went a long way toward acknowledging the problems that illegal immigration is creating in this country.
He spoke specifically of the burden on our schools, the burdens on our tax system. To my knowledge, this is the first time that he has ever acknowledged those problems. I thought he spoke directly on something that was really something of a surprise, and that is involving state and local law enforcement authorities in controlling illegal immigration, and adding to border security, a critically important component, and, at the same time, trying to elevate the debate, if you will, the dialogue.
And, for that, at least, I give him some considerable credit.
Now is the -- the details are going to be critically important, and the reaction, obviously of those people, both in the House, the representatives in the House, and senators, who are moving in quite different directions. It will be very interesting to see what their reaction is to this -- this speech tonight.
BLITZER: Lou, the president said that Americans must face the reality that there are millions of illegal immigrants in this country. He says: "They should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is amnesty. And I oppose it."
DOBBS: Right.
BLITZER: Do you feel, having now listened to the president's speech, that what, in effect, he's offering is amnesty?
DOBBS: Oh, certainly. There's no question of it.
It was -- even though I will give him credit for a well- constructed speech, I am not going to completely set aside reason and some suggestion that words should have meaning.
This is amnesty by any definition, certainly as put forward by the Senate. And, secondly, the -- the other part where the president's rhetoric kind of got a bit ahead of -- of both facts and reason is when he suggested that we need to hold employers to account for the workers they hire.
That's the last mention in that 17 minutes of the penalties that should fall upon illegal employers of illegal aliens. You know, that's the kind of device that is not particularly effective, particularly with a nation now focused on the illegal immigration crisis and border security.
BLITZER: A special edition of "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" coming up in a few moments.
Lou, get ready for that program. I will be joining you over there as well.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux, what were you hearing during the course of today from senior White House officials on the single most important thing they hoped the president would achieve tonight?
MALVEAUX: Well, you know, Wolf, the big test for this president, of course, is to sell his plan.
And whether or not he did that is still in question. And there were three things they went in, goals that they had in mind, first, to super-charge this debate over immigration reform, secondly, for the president to let House Republicans specifically know: Look, I have heard your concerns about border security, White House officials saying, perhaps they didn't emphasize that enough, that there was too little of that before, and, third, of course, to lay a marker, to say, this is a White House that is fully engaged and that will have a seat at the table when it comes to negotiations.
But, Wolf, it's still a big question here, whether or not they actually have -- have satisfied the conservative base, those Republicans they desperately need for the midterm elections to maintain the House and the Senate majorities.
BLITZER: Let me bring in Jeff Greenfield and ask him this question.
Does he really need, when all is said and done, the conservative base of the Republican Party, the Tom Tancredos. If, in fact, he gets most of the Democrats, the moderate Republicans, he is going to have the votes in the Senate, for sure, and probably will able to squeak through a victory in the House.
GREENFIELD: Well, don't forget, Wolf, that, within the House, the Republicans have adopted what is called, if I'm right about this, the majority of the majority rule.
And one of ways they have maintained party discipline is that they have a basic notion that, if they don't have a majority of Republicans behind a bill, that bill doesn't come up.
And, as far as I can tell, based on the voting in the House on immigration, a majority of Republicans have a much tougher view on this than their president, who, by the way, as we all interminably remind you, is not the most popular and powerful political figure in the country, as he may once have been.
So, that -- it's by no means certain that he can craft a -- a bill if a majority of Republicans are opposed to it, because of their own rule.
The second part about this, though, if I can dare to shift from politics to the substance of this is, the notion that -- that you're going to persuade people who are here illegally to return to their country and then try to come back seems to me to fly in the face of the last 20, if not 40, years of history.
For -- for whatever reasons -- and you can take Lou Dobbs' point of view on this -- you can take a much more sympathetic view -- millions of people are here working at jobs that people will employ them to work. The people that I see hiring clearly illegal immigrants -- you know, I have seen this in maybe a dozen cities -- they are not checking documentation.
They're saying, you want to get into the back of a truck and do a day's work, and I will pay you something to a close to a wage that you couldn't get back home? That's the reality.
And I just wonder whether any of these proposals connects with the reality of -- of either side of this, that there is, in fact, a -- a 20-year history of pretending we're controlling the borders and sanctioning employers, and this -- and the 20-year history, or a 40- year history, of millions of people desperate to work, people who will literally -- and the most eloquent part of the president's speech -- risk their lives for the wages that very few Americans will take.
Those are the two fundamental realities. I got to say, it doesn't seem to me that Washington has really come up with much of a way to answer that, much less the political heat that -- that is felt by people who really believe that this illegal immigration is a direct threat to their economic interests.
So, you know, I don't -- I'm not sure how far the president has moved down that road to -- to -- to calming the waters on this issue -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jeff, thanks very much.
Suzanne, at the White House, we will be checking back with you.
Our coverage continues now -- a special edition of "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" -- Lou.
DOBBS: Wolf, thank you very much.
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