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 Home > News & Policies > April 2006

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 25, 2006

President Discusses Immigration Reform with Members of the Senate
Cabinet Room

     Fact sheet In Focus: Immigration

4:23 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank the members of the United States Senate for joining on a very important discussion, and the discussion was how to get a comprehensive immigration bill out of the United States Senate.

I will report to the American people that there is a common desire to have a bill that enforces the border, a bill that has interior enforcement -- in other words, a bill that will hold people to account for hiring somebody who is here illegally -- but a bill that also recognizes we must have a temporary worker program, a bill that does not grant automatic amnesty to people, but a bill that says, somebody who is working here on a legal basis has the right to get in line to become a citizen.

President George W. Bush places his hands on the arm of U.S. Senate Majority leader Senator Bill Frist, R-Tenn., left, and U.S. Senate Democratic leader Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev., right, at the conclusion of a meeting with legislators Tuesday, April 25, 2006 at the White House to discuss immigration reform. President Bush thanked both Republican and Democratic members of the Senate for their hard work to get a comprehensive immigration bill out of the U.S. Senate and hopefully to his desk before the end of this year. White House photo by Eric Draper I thank the members, both Republicans and Democrats, for taking on this really hard, hard assignment. It's important that we reform a system that is not working. It's important that we uphold the values of the United States of America. It's important that we treat people with dignity.

And I strongly believe that we have a chance to get an immigration bill that is comprehensive in nature to my desk before the end of this year.

And again, I want to thank both the Republicans and Democrats for the spirit of hard work. I particularly want to thank Senator Kennedy and Senator McCain for taking the lead on this important bill on the floor of the United States Senate. And I assured the members that I look forward to working with them as they try to get a bill out of the Senate by Memorial Day and into conference.

Thank you all.

END 4:25 P.M. EDT