Earlier this week, former President George W. Bush called on Congress to tone down the “harsh rhetoric” on immigration, adding that he hopes that doing so will “set a tone that’s more respectful” of immigration and lead to immigration reform.
In an interview Bush stated, “I do want to say to Congress, please put aside all the harsh rhetoric about immigration, please put aside trying to score political points on either side. I hope I can help set a tone that is more respectful about the immigrant, which may lead to reform of the system.”
This message comes from the former President after a heated debate over immigration in Congress as the Biden administration struggles with the influx of migrants arriving at the U.S- Mexico border. During his second term as president, Bush pushed an immigration bill that aimed to create a pathway to citizenship for some of the 12 million undocumented immigrants and sought to toughen border security. However, the bill ultimately stalled in the Senate.
During an interview, Bush acknowledged that one of the biggest disappointments of his presidency is that he didn’t pass any meaningful reform on the issue. He also said that he is currently lobbying the Republican Party to act on creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, if they pass a background check and pay taxes but he didn’t seem hopeful that his party will agree.
Bush also criticized Congress’ lack of action regarding immigration, noting that there has been “a lot of executive orders, but all that means is that Congress isn’t doing its job.”
He lastly stated, “It is part of, hopefully, creating a better understanding about the role of immigrants in our society. Mine is just a small voice in what I hope is a chorus of people saying, ‘let’s see if we can’t solve the problem.’”
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