THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming, thanks for the warm welcome,
thanks for joining me as I make this important announcement -- an
announcement that I believe will make America a more compassionate and
more humane and stronger country.
I appreciate members of my Cabinet who have joined me today,
starting with our Secretary of State, Colin Powell. (Applause.) I'm
honored that our Attorney General, John Ashcroft, has joined us.
(Applause.) Secretary of Commerce, Don Evans. (Applause.) Secretary
Tom Ridge, of the Department of Homeland Security. (Applause.) El
Embajador of Mexico, Tony Garza. (Applause.) I thank all the other
members of my administration who have joined us today.
I appreciate the members of Congress who have taken time to come:
Senator Larry Craig, Congressman Chris Cannon, and Congressman Jeff
Flake. I'm honored you all have joined us, thank you for coming.
I appreciate the members of citizen groups who have joined us
today. Chairman of the Hispanic Alliance for Progress, Manny Lujan.
Gil Moreno, the President and CEO of the Association for the
Advancement of Mexican Americans. Roberto De Posada, the President of
the Latino Coalition. And Hector Flores, the President of LULAC.
Thank you all for joining us. (Applause.)
Many of you here today are Americans by choice, and you have
followed in the path of millions. And over the generations we have
received energetic, ambitious, optimistic people from every part of the
world. By tradition and conviction, our country is a welcoming
society. America is a stronger and better nation because of the hard
work and the faith and entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants.
Every generation of immigrants has reaffirmed the wisdom of
remaining open to the talents and dreams of the world. And every
generation of immigrants has reaffirmed our ability to assimilate
newcomers -- which is one of the defining strengths of our country.
During one great period of immigration -- between 1891 and 1920 --
our nation received some 18 million men, women and children from other
nations. The hard work of these immigrants helped make our economy the
largest in the world. The children of immigrants put on the uniform
and helped to liberate the lands of their ancestors. One of the
primary reasons America became a great power in the 20th century is
because we welcomed the talent and the character and the patriotism of
immigrant families.
The contributions of immigrants to America continue. About 14
percent of our nation's civilian workforce is foreign-born. Most begin
their working lives in America by taking hard jobs and clocking long
hours in important industries. Many immigrants also start businesses,
taking the familiar path from hired labor to ownership.
As a Texan, I have known many immigrant families, mainly from
Mexico, and I have seen what they add to our country. They bring to
America the values of faith in God, love of family, hard work and self
reliance -- the values that made us a great nation to begin with.
We've all seen those values in action, through the service and
sacrifice of more than 35,000 foreign-born men and women currently on
active duty in the United States military. One of them is Master
Gunnery Sergeant Guadalupe Denogean, an immigrant from Mexico who has
served in the Marine Corps for 25 years and counting. Last year, I was
honored and proud to witness Sergeant Denogean take the oath of
citizenship in a hospital where he was recovering from wounds he
received in Iraq. I'm honored to be his Commander-in-Chief, I'm proud
to call him a fellow American. (Applause.)
As a nation that values immigration, and depends on immigration, we
should have immigration laws that work and make us proud. Yet today we
do not. Instead, we see many employers turning to the illegal labor
market. We see millions of hard-working men and women condemned to
fear and insecurity in a massive, undocumented economy. Illegal entry
across our borders makes more difficult the urgent task of securing the
homeland. The system is not working. Our nation needs an immigration
system that serves the American economy, and reflects the American
Dream.
Reform must begin by confronting a basic fact of life and
economics: some of the jobs being generated in America's growing
economy are jobs American citizens are not filling. Yet these jobs
represent a tremendous opportunity for workers from abroad who want to
work and fulfill their duties as a husband or a wife, a son or a
daughter.
Their search for a better life is one of the most basic desires of
human beings. Many undocumented workers have walked mile after mile,
through the heat of the day and the cold of the night. Some have
risked their lives in dangerous desert border crossings, or entrusted
their lives to the brutal rings of heartless human smugglers. Workers
who seek only to earn a living end up in the shadows of American life
-- fearful, often abused and exploited. When they are victimized by
crime, they are afraid to call the police, or seek recourse in the
legal system. They are cut off from their families far away, fearing
if they leave our country to visit relatives back home, they might
never be able to return to their jobs.
The situation I described is wrong. It is not the American way.
Out of common sense and fairness, our laws should allow willing workers
to enter our country and fill jobs that Americans have are not
filling. (Applause.) We must make our immigration laws more rational,
and more humane. And I believe we can do so without jeopardizing the
livelihoods of American citizens.
Our reforms should be guided by a few basic principles. First,
America must control its borders. Following the attacks of September
the 11th, 2001, this duty of the federal government has become even
more urgent. And we're fulfilling that duty.
For the first time in our history, we have consolidated all border
agencies under one roof to make sure they share information and the
work is more effective. We're matching all visa applicants against an
expanded screening list to identify terrorists and criminals and
immigration violators. This month, we have begun using advanced
technology to better record and track aliens who enter our country --
and to make sure they leave as scheduled. We have deployed new gamma
and x-ray systems to scan cargo and containers and shipments at ports
of entry to America. We have significantly expanded the Border Patrol
-- with more than a thousand new agents on the borders, and 40 percent
greater funding over the last two years. We're working closely with
the Canadian and Mexican governments to increase border security.
America is acting on a basic belief: our borders should be open to
legal travel and honest trade; our borders should be shut and barred
tight to criminals, to drug traders, to drug traffickers and to
criminals, and to terrorists.
Second, new immigration laws should serve the economic needs of our
country. If an American employer is offering a job that American
citizens are not willing to take, we ought to welcome into our country
a person who will fill that job.
Third, we should not give unfair rewards to illegal immigrants in
the citizenship process or disadvantage those who came here lawfully,
or hope to do so.
Fourth, new laws should provide incentives for temporary, foreign
workers to return permanently to their home countries after their
period of work in the United States has expired.
Today, I ask the Congress to join me in passing new immigration
laws that reflect these principles, that meet America's economic needs,
and live up to our highest ideals. (Applause.)
I propose a new temporary worker program that will match willing
foreign workers with willing American employers, when no Americans can
be found to fill the jobs. This program will offer legal status, as
temporary workers, to the millions of undocumented men and women now
employed in the United States, and to those in foreign countries who
seek to participate in the program and have been offered employment
here. This new system should be clear and efficient, so employers are
able to find workers quickly and simply.
All who participate in the temporary worker program must have a
job, or, if not living in the United States, a job offer. The legal
status granted by this program will last three years and will be
renewable -- but it will have an end. Participants who do not remain
employed, who do not follow the rules of the program, or who break the
law will not be eligible for continued participation and will be
required to return to their home.
Under my proposal, employers have key responsibilities. Employers
who extend job offers must first make every reasonable effort to find
an American worker for the job at hand. Our government will develop a
quick and simple system for employers to search for American workers.
Employers must not hire undocumented aliens or temporary workers whose
legal status has expired. They must report to the government the
temporary workers they hire, and who leave their employ, so that we can
keep track of people in the program, and better enforce immigration
laws. There must be strong workplace enforcement with tough penalties
for anyone, for any employer violating these laws.
Undocumented workers now here will be required to pay a one-time
fee to register for the temporary worker program. Those who seek to
join the program from abroad, and have complied with our immigration
laws, will not have to pay any fee. All participants will be issued a
temporary worker card that will allow them to travel back and forth
between their home and the United States without fear of being denied
re-entry into our country. (Applause.)
This program expects temporary workers to return permanently to
their home countries after their period of work in the United States
has expired. And there should be financial incentives for them to do
so. I will work with foreign governments on a plan to give temporary
workers credit, when they enter their own nation's retirement system,
for the time they have worked in America. I also support making it
easier for temporary workers to contribute a portion of their earnings
to tax-preferred savings accounts, money they can collect as they
return to their native countries. After all, in many of those
countries, a small nest egg is what is necessary to start their own
business, or buy some land for their family.
Some temporary workers will make the decision to pursue American
citizenship. Those who make this choice will be allowed to apply in
the normal way. They will not be given unfair advantage over people
who have followed legal procedures from the start. I oppose amnesty,
placing undocumented workers on the automatic path to citizenship.
Granting amnesty encourages the violation of our laws, and perpetuates
illegal immigration. America is a welcoming country, but citizenship
must not be the automatic reward for violating the laws of America.
(Applause.)
The citizenship line, however, is too long, and our current limits
on legal immigration are too low. My administration will work with the
Congress to increase the annual number of green cards that can lead to
citizenship. Those willing to take the difficult path of citizenship
-- the path of work, and patience, and assimilation -- should be
welcome in America, like generations of immigrants before them.
(Applause.)
In the process of immigration reform, we must also set high
expectations for what new citizens should know. An understanding of
what it means to be an American is not a formality in the
naturalization process, it is essential to full participation in our
democracy. My administration will examine the standard of knowledge in
the current citizenship test. We must ensure that new citizens know
not only the facts of our history, but the ideals that have shaped our
history. Every citizen of America has an obligation to learn the
values that make us one nation: liberty and civic responsibility,
equality under God, and tolerance for others.
This new temporary worker program will bring more than economic
benefits to America. Our homeland will be more secure when we can
better account for those who enter our country, instead of the current
situation in which millions of people are unknown, unknown to the law.
Law enforcement will face fewer problems with undocumented workers, and
will be better able to focus on the true threats to our nation from
criminals and terrorists. And when temporary workers can travel
legally and freely, there will be more efficient management of our
borders and more effective enforcement against those who pose a danger
to our country. (Applause.)
This new system will be more compassionate. Decent, hard-working
people will now be protected by labor laws, with the right to change
jobs, earn fair wages, and enjoy the same working conditions that the
law requires for American workers. Temporary workers will be able to
establish their identities by obtaining the legal documents we all take
for granted. And they will be able to talk openly to authorities, to
report crimes when they are harmed, without the fear of being
deported. (Applause.)
The best way, in the long run, to reduce the pressures that create
illegal immigration in the first place is to expand economic
opportunity among the countries in our neighborhood. In a few days I
will go to Mexico for the Special Summit of the Americas, where we will
discuss ways to advance free trade, and to fight corruption, and
encourage the reforms that lead to prosperity. Real growth and real
hope in the nations of our hemisphere will lessen the flow of new
immigrants to America when more citizens of other countries are able to
achieve their dreams at their own home. (Applause.)
Yet our country has always benefited from the dreams that others
have brought here. By working hard for a better life, immigrants
contribute to the life of our nation. The temporary worker program I
am proposing today represents the best tradition of our society, a
society that honors the law, and welcomes the newcomer. This plan will
help return order and fairness to our immigration system, and in so
doing we will honor our values, by showing our respect for those who
work hard and share in the ideals of America.