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'Return every illegal entrant we catch'

America can both welcome immigrants and punish those who enter the country illegally, President Bush said here Monday in his latest push for a guest-worker program coupled with beefed-up border security. Bush didn't reveal new details about his guest-worker proposal in a 26-minute speech inside a hangar at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The president also didn't choose favorites among the host of proposals in Congress that deal with border and immigration issues. Bush did talk tough about illegal immigrants, first highlighting how they burden hospitals, schools and law enforcement in border states, then pledging to "promptly return every illegal entrant we catch at the border, with no exceptions." "America has always been a compassionate nation that values the newcomer and takes great pride in our immigrant heritage, yet we're also a nation built on the rule of law," Bush told hundreds of supporters. "The American people should not have to choose between a welcoming society and a lawful society. We can have both at the same time." Flanked by Customs and Border Protection helicopters and backed up by more than 40 uniformed members of the Department of Homeland Security, Bush said he wants to step up deportation of border crossers, crack down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants and add more agents and equipment along the U.S.-Mexico border. Previously, the administration has outlined a guest-worker program that would let illegal immigrants obtain three-year work visas. Workers could extend the visas for another three years, but they would then have to return to their home countries for a year to apply for new work permits. "By creating a legal channel for those who enter America to do an honest day's labor, we would reduce the number of workers trying to sneak across the border," Bush said. "This would free up law enforcement officials to focus on criminals, drug dealers, terrorists and others that mean to harm us." The guest-worker proposal is backed by businesses that need foreign employees, but it is anathema to conservatives in Bush's own party who describe it as an amnesty program that encourages illegal immigration. Bush rejected that view, declaring, "I'm not going to sign an immigration bill that includes amnesty." That statement earned praise from former state lawmaker Randy Graf, who plans to run for the seat to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe in next year's GOP primary. But the president's guest-worker program "raises a lot more questions that it answers," Graf said. A guest-worker program should be part of a comprehensive reform plan, said Farrell Quinlan, a spokesman for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. "That will not only help fill labor needs, but also serve as a way to solve this problem of 11 million people living in the shadows," he said. "We don't want to drive them further underground." The Senate is expected to take up immigration issues early next year. Bush praised Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl as "two good men taking the lead," but the president didn't say which of their bills he favors. McCain and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., support legislation that would allow illegal border crossers to work in the United States for up to six years. Kyl and John Cornyn, R-Texas, are backing a plan that would force illegal entrants to first return to their home countries to apply for guest-worker permits. In a statement, Kyl highlighted Bush's comments that participants in a guest-worker program must go back home at the end of their allotted time. "This is critical to both avoid the taint of amnesty for those who have broken the law, as well as preserve the flexibility of a guest-worker program to fluctuate along with the needs of the U.S. economy," Kyl said. Jim Pederson, the former chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party who plans to challenge Kyl next year, said in a statement, "When it comes to protecting our border, Arizonans deserve more than a photo op with the president." Bush visited Tucson for just 90 minutes, flying in from Waco, Texas, after spending nearly a week at his nearby ranch, then leaving on Air Force One for a Phoenix fund-raiser for Kyl. Members of the press pool saw less than two minutes of Bush's briefing with Border Patrol officials. Bush sat at a long table with members of Arizona's congressional delegation, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar stood before easels holding charts and maps. "Control is achievable," Aguilar told Bush about the cross-border traffic. In his speech, Bush said the nation has "a chance to move beyond the old and tired choices of the immigration debate." But the president of the union representing Border Patrol agents said Bush's address was "a lot of the same tired rhetoric we've seen for a long time." "Baby steps and band-aids" is how T.J. Bonner of the National Border Patrol Council described Bush's list of new security measures along the border. "A thousand new agents isn't going to make much of a difference at all," Bonner said, unless the nation decides "we're not going to tolerate the hiring of illegal aliens in this country." Bush pledged to expand an "interior repatriation" policy, in which illegal immigrants are sent home, rather than dropped off in border towns where they can easily try again to sneak into the United States. The president also promised to end the so-called "catch and release" policy, in which non-Mexican border crossers are set free and asked to appear at a court hearing. About one-quarter actually show up in court, Bush said, so only 30,000 of the 160,000 non-Mexicans caught crossing the Southwestern border were sent home last year. "It is an unwise policy, and we're going to end it," Bush said to applause. The government hopes to end "catch and release" by increasing the number of beds in detention facilities and speeding up the processing and deportation of illegal immigrants. U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat, said he was disappointed that Bush failed to outline a specific plan involving the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. "Saying 'I am not for amnesty' does not deal with the issue," Grijalva said. "I'm not going to support a guest-worker program that brings in laborers, creates a whole new underclass and gives them and their families no rights," he said. Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, blasted Bush's references to his guest-worker program. "This is an amnesty on a six-year time delay," said Mehlman, whose group supports a crackdown on illegal immigration. Isabel Garcia, a leader of the Coalición de Derechos Humanos, a Tucson human-rights group, said Bush's speech was a continuation of his administration's failed policies, which serve only to "create insecurity, instability and death on the border." Fact check The Arizona Daily Star researched some of the factual statements made by President Bush during his speech here on Monday. It found: The president said that since he took office, more than 350,000 illegal border entrants with criminal records have been removed from the country. Although figures for his entire tenure weren't immediately available, federal deportation figures for the last three years indicate nearly 250,000 criminal illegal entrants were removed, indicating the president's figures were probably on target. The president said more than 85 percent of illegal entrants are from Mexico. While that many may enter through Mexico, research indicates only about 57 percent are from Mexico. Another 24 percent are from other Latin American countries, 9 percent are Asian, 6 percent are European or Canadian, and 4 percent are from Africa. The president said only 8 percent of illegal entrants who are returned to the interior of Mexico are caught re-entering the United States. A government evaluation of the "interior repatriation" program put the figure slightly higher, at 10 percent. The president said about four of five non-Mexican illegal entrants are released and asked to appear in court later on their own, and 75 percent of them don't show up. News and other reports put the numbers even higher, at about 85 percent released on their own recognizance, with the no-show rate even higher than 75 percent - as high as 98 percent in some jurisdictions. The president said a new program this summer cut Brazilian illegal immigration by 50 percent. News reports this month citing federal reports indicated illegal immigration from Brazil this year was actually triple what it was last year. The president said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared illegal immigrants have a right to re-litigate in immigration court as many times as they want. The 9th Circuit last year did strike down a provision allowing previously deported entrants to be summarily removed from the country without a court hearing. The ruling applies only in the nine states within the 9th Circuit.