Bush calls for "benevolent spirit" in immigration debate
As the U.S. debates immigration policy, former President George W. Bush says it should "do so with a benevolent spirit and keep in mind the contribution of immigrants."
"Immigrants have helped build the country that we've become and immigrants can help build a dynamic tomorrow," Bush said Tuesday as he opened a conference on the benefits of immigration hosted by the George W. Bush Institute and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
The conference comes as immigration reform is getting renewed attention following an election in which Hispanics overwhelmingly supported Democratic President Barack Obama. Bush has long been concerned about immigration and had warned the Republican Party as he left office in January 2009 not to become "anti-immigrant."
"America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time," Bush said Tuesday.
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One of the Bush Institute's focuses is economic growth, and the conference is part of an institute initiative to find ways for the U.S. to achieve 4 percent gross domestic product growth. For the most recent quarter, the country's GDP grew at 2.7 percent.
Bush said immigrants come with "new skills and new ideas" and "fill a critical gap in our labor market."
Following Bush's remarks, the conference featured panels with business leaders and economic experts on both the immigrants' contributions to economic growth and their contributions to businesses.
A handbook on growth and immigration by the institute notes immigrants are more likely than people born in the U.S. to be self-employed and are disproportionally responsible for U.S. international patent applications and for starting successful engineering and technology firms.
Immigration reform is expected to be taken up by Congress starting next year.
Bush's own promised overhaul of immigration policy in his second term was defeated in Congress when leading lawmakers, including fellow Republicans, thought provisions such as a guest worker program amounted to amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Michelle Mittelstadt, spokeswoman for the Migration Policy Institute, said it's significant that Bush is speaking about the issue at a time when "there's a lot of soul-searching in the Republican Party about what sort of policy decisions it should be taking on immigration."
She said Bush set out a framework for immigration reform in the early months of his presidency, before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed the direction of his administration, and then tried in 2006 and 2007 to get an immigration overhaul through Congress.
"Though he didn't succeed, he has a long track record of working on this issue," she said.
The current push for reform comes from both a recognition that the system is "broken or is dysfunctional" and an acknowledgement that it will be an important issue for both parties, she said.
James K. Glassman, executive director of the Bush Institute, said that when the institute was identifying policy areas that could help grow the economy, immigration was one of the points that quickly emerged.
"We need to attract the best and brightest and keep them here," Glassman said.
Glassman added that the U.S. also needs a solution for those who are already in the country illegally.
He said the institute's goal is to raise the visibility of immigration issues, making sure that economic growth is connected to immigration. "We see our role as being longer term and broader," Glassman said.
"We didn't plan on this being so timely, but there is no doubt it is extremely timely," Glassman said.
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The bleeding hearts want to hand the country to Mexico, and the opposition wants to arrest and deport them all.
No real solution will be found, and the flow of illegals will continue to happen, until the Islamists blow up one of our cities, and the urgency of sealing the border, comes home to roost.
It is incredible, how we can find no consensus in America, on anything. That simply demonstrates there is no common sense in this country, any longer.
Everybody says there is this RACE problem. Everybody says this RACE problem will be solved when the third world pours into EVERY white country and ONLY into white countries.
The Netherlands and Belgium are just as crowded as Japan or Taiwan, but nobody says Japan or Taiwan will solve this RACE problem by bringing in millions of third worlders and quote assimilating unquote with them.
Everybody says the final solution to this RACE problem is for EVERY white country and ONLY white countries to "assimilate," i.e., intermarry, with all those non-whites.
What if I said there was this RACE problem and this RACE problem would be solved only if hundreds of millions of non-blacks were brought into EVERY black country and ONLY into black countries?
How long would it take anyone to realize I'm not talking about a RACE problem. I am talking about the final solution to the BLACK problem?
And how long would it take any sane black man to notice this and what kind of psycho black man wouldn't object to this?
But if I tell that obvious truth about the ongoing program of genocide against my race, the white race, Liberals and respectable conservatives agree that I am a naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews.
They say they are anti-racist. What they are is anti-white.
Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white.
http://whitegenocideproject.com/
....but he did lead and was dead nuts on target regarding this issue.
It's as if every centimeter rightward on some issue becomes the new stake in the ground, the moderation of which the ultra right radicals who now own this party and its castrated moderates will not tolerate.
My grandmother, grandfather, and mother - rock solid Republicans all - are turning over in their graves at what today's so-called Republican party has become.
It's too bad Boehner has no cajones, the guy could be a half-way decent leader as far as the House is concerned but he's so afraid of losing his speakership he won't stand up to the radical right. In the Senate, McConnell is the star of the radical right, and beyond hope.
Heck of a job, Georgie.
---
But did he oppose any of the various states un-constitutional anti-Hispanic laws that repubs passed on the last couple of years which cost them the election?
No.
dubya's "wisdom" is always "after the fact"......like WMD's.
Smarts and then some...
Now what other "areas" besides those that = Votes will help the Working People of this Nation and Economy grow...
Workers having to "plan" on benefits they payed into being out of reach the closer they are to the grave....How about work till you drop, decades with your pay flat lined while the "creators" get more & more & more...Can't afford to buy gas to get to work...who the hell cares...And cost of "living" going up & up....so what....
"retire" at 100 and then get a payout & drop dead..If the criminals haven't stole all the $$$$ by then....
f***in criminal ceos and "creators" have some guts....