A Mixed Report Card

A Mixed Report Card

May 16, 2006

President Bush gets good marks for endorsing a responsible policy to provide a path to earned citizenship; late marks for neglecting border control for too long; and bad marks for using the overstretched National Guard as part of a politically-motivated stop-gap measure that won’t protect our borders in the long-term.

• It is great that President Bush is now for a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented individuals currently living in the United States, now he needs to convince the House Republicans. Unless he pressures the House Republican leadership to back off their bill that would deport these millions and criminalize those who aid them – his own support won’t matter. Providing a path to citizenship -- with a requirement that these individuals pay fines, be employed, pass a security background check, learn English and have their applications processed after immigrants who are here legally -- is the fair, responsible and right thing to do. It serves no one's interest to keep these people living in the shadows.
  
  
• Illegal immigration is not a new problem and strengthening our borders is only part of the solution. The crisis that the President described last night existed six months ago; it existed four years ago. While an estimated 750,000 individuals enter the United States illegally each year, the White House has until now been unwilling to sufficiently invest in additional border agents. As part of the 2006 budget, the Bush administration was only willing to fund 210 of 2000 positions that Congress authorized. It has not supported until now genuine penalties for businesses that employ illegal workers. Having all but ignored the western hemisphere since 9/11, it has still not formulated an economic strategy to help our neighbors create opportunities for a greater share of their workers at home.
  
  
• Deploying National Guard units for temporary border duty can make a bad situation worse. The National Guard is already overstretched. All four Border States – California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas – have anywhere from 600 to 6000 reservists currently mobilized for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others have been deployed guarding critical infrastructure at critical times since 9/11. If security is the real issue, then more forces should be deployed along the northern border, where the risk of terrorist infiltration is actually higher. The National Guard should not be further stressed to help the President solve a political problem within his own party.