Bush Pushes Immigration Amid Questions

President George W. Bush used his weekly radio address to re-state his five-point plan for immigration reform, and the Democrats responded in theirs by calling on Mr. Bush not to give in to right-wing "immigration extremists" in his own party. Meanwhile, the governors of states along the U.S.-Mexican border are split over the president's plans.

President Bush's Saturday message – the third this week on the topic of immigration – pushed for "dramatic improvements" in the way the United States controls its border with Mexico. The radio address was very similar to the primetime speech the president made on Monday.

Bush is asking Congress to support funding that would allow the hiring of thousands of Border Patrol agents. He wants to see that additional manpower backed up with improved fences, infrared cameras and other advanced surveillance technologies. The White House has already asked Congress to approve $1.9-billion for border security improvements.

"This week I asked Congress to provide funding for dramatic improvements in manpower and technology at the border," Bush said Saturday. "We'll hire thousands more Border Patrol agents. And to help these agents do their jobs, we will deploy advanced technologies such as high-tech fences in urban areas, infrared cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles."

The president also urged Congress to reach a compromise on one especially divisive aspect of proposed reform. He asked lawmakers to find middle ground between mass deportation of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already living in America — and automatic citizenship.

But the Democrats' weekly radio address said the president was not showing strong enough leadership on immigration.

"The president's public relations campaign won't get the job done," Congressman Mike Honda said. "As the Senate continues to consider comprehensive immigration reform, the president needs to stand up to the far right, and take a stand on the details of the bill before them."

He said Bush should denounce House Republicans who support measures that would treat people who sneak across the border as felons who should be deported.

Honda, a third-generation Japanese-American, said the U.S. can't afford to play partisan politics with immigration reform or border security.

California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is also demanding more details about the president's immigration policy – specifically deploying National Guard troops along the border.

A Pentagon memo obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, the deployment would last at least two years with no clear end date.

The one-page "initial guidance" memo to National Guard leaders in border states does not address the estimated cost of the mission or when soldiers would be deployed. But high-ranking officials in the California National Guard said they were told Friday that deployments would not begin before early June.

While the military document makes clear the troops would remain under the command of their governors, it also indicates a high degree of federal control over operations. It states that the National Guard Bureau's Army and Air Directories "will serve as the states' focal points for force-planning, training, organizing and equipping their forces."

Guardsmen in "all other states, territories and the District of Columbia" will serve a supportive role, according to the memo.

Gov. Schwarzenegger, who has not yet decided whether to commit troops to the mission, led a conference call with the governors of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to discuss the president's plan on Friday evening.

"There still remains a lot of unanswered questions that the governor is concerned about," Adam Mandelsohn, Schwarzenegger's communications director. "Most specifically, the outstanding funding issues and whether there is a commitment to the two-year time frame," he said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said they would support the deployment of National Guard troops to the border, while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, has been more critical of the plan.

A spokeswoman for Perry said the governors agreed to send a letter asking the Bush administration to clarify issues such as funding, rotation and troop levels that would be stationed in each of the states.

Napolitano is more concerned about Arizona being reimbursed by the federal government, said Dennis Burke, a Napolitano co-chief of staff. "Our concern is the check in the mail."

The Pentagon memo described an "end date" for the mission when the U.S. Border Patrol operation "gains independent operational control of the (southwest border) and National Guard forces are no longer required for this mission."

The memo said the Guard units' missions will focus on "surveillance, reconnaissance, aviation, intelligence, engineering, training, vehicle dismantling, linguistics ... transportation and logistics."

They will not be asked to perform law-enforcement functions, but rather provide "vetted and pre-coordinated support to law enforcement."