Tuesday, May 16, 2006
President Bush Straddled the Fence on Immigration
Illegal Immigrants * Hitech, National Guards and the Elusive Trouts
I was not among those who watched the telecast of the president's speech. Read the transcript. To no one's surprise he tried to appease people on both sides of this contentious issue and failed. Among other things he talked about the end of catch and release. "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." And he threw in a human interest item about a soldier named Guadalupe Denogean who served in Iraq.
*
Good try at making no enemies.
Jim VandeHei and Jonathan Weisman "With the Senate set to debate the largest overhaul of immigration laws in decades, Bush did not specifically address what many Republican lawmakers consider the most politically explosive and intractable issue confronting the country: what to do with most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States today."
Jim VandeHei and Jonathan Weisman "With the Senate set to debate the largest overhaul of immigration laws in decades, Bush did not specifically address what many Republican lawmakers consider the most politically explosive and intractable issue confronting the country: what to do with most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States today."
Would it sell in Peoria ?
Dan Balz "Bush sought to reassure both sides with his speech last night, and in doing so he attempted to define the middle ground in a debate where consensus has been difficult. By ordering National Guard troops to the border, he was determined to show conservatives and House Republicans his belief that border security is a prerequisite to any legislative solution. But on the most contentious issue before Congress, Bush came closer to the approach now on the Senate floor, saying he favors a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants while rejecting either mass deportation or automatic amnesty for those now here illegally."
Dan Balz "Bush sought to reassure both sides with his speech last night, and in doing so he attempted to define the middle ground in a debate where consensus has been difficult. By ordering National Guard troops to the border, he was determined to show conservatives and House Republicans his belief that border security is a prerequisite to any legislative solution. But on the most contentious issue before Congress, Bush came closer to the approach now on the Senate floor, saying he favors a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants while rejecting either mass deportation or automatic amnesty for those now here illegally."
