The White House
President George W. Bush
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 13, 2007

Fact Sheet: The Consequences of Inaction
Top Five Reasons The Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill Must Be Passed This Year

      In Focus: Immigration

"…[N]ow is the time to move a comprehensive bill that enforces our borders and has good workplace enforcement; that doesn't grant automatic citizenship; that addresses this problem in a comprehensive way. I would hope that the Senate Majority Leader has that same sense of desire to move … the bill that I do and these senators do, because now is the time to get it done. … I believe without the bill it's going to be harder to enforce the border. The status quo is unacceptable."

- President George W. Bush, 6/12/07

If The Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill Now Being Considered By The Senate Is Not Passed, The U.S. Will Be Left With A Status Quo That Is Unacceptable.  The current immigration system is broken:

This Bill Represents The Best Chance To Move Forward On Fixing Our Broken Immigration System

1)       The Bill Contains Tough New Border Security And Enforcement Measures. 

2)       The Bill Will Give Employers The Tools They Need To Verify The Work Eligibility Of Their Employees.  Today, we have an entire underground industry dedicated to producing fake IDs and fraudulent Social Security numbers.  If this bill is not passed, the problems of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act would persist – employers would continue operating under a system in which they have only a limited ability to tell whether documentation is authentic.

3)       The Bill Will Bring As Many As 12 Million Current Undocumented Workers Out Of The Shadows.  If the bill is not passed, these workers would remain in the shadows of our society, where they are often exploited, underpaid, and afraid to go to the police for fear of deportation. 

4)       The Bill Will Clear The Current Family Backlog And Reform The Immigration System To Better Balance The Importance Of Family Connections With U.S. Economic Needs.  Currently, applicants wait up to 30 years for green cards.  In addition, our immigration system places far too little emphasis on the skills and attributes necessary to fill the needs of our growing economy and further the national interest.

5)       The Bill Will Create A Temporary Worker Program To Alleviate Pressure On The Border And Provide The U.S. Economy With An Efficient Mechanism To Match The Skills Of Willing Foreign Workers To The Demands Of Available Jobs.

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