Bush Praises Security Progress at the Border

President Bush visited the Southwest frontier Thursday to highlight recent improvements in border security and counter House Republicans’ ongoing attack on the broad revisions he was seeking in immigration law.

In Mission, a parched pocket of the Rio Grande Valley just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, Bush once again urged Congress to act, reiterating his call for an immigration overhaul that encompasses tougher enforcement, a guest worker program and some accommodation for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Addressing an enthusiastic audience largely made up of Border Patrol agents, local officials and National Guard troops, the president praised the temporary deployment of more than 6,000 Guard members along the border and the use of new technologies, such as heat sensors, to detect illegal crossings.

“The plan is working; it makes sense,” Bush said of the Guard deployment that will last two years, by which time the Border Patrol is to have hired an additional 6,000 agents.

“This border is changing, and it needs to change so the Border Patrol can do its job,” Bush said. But unless “comprehensive immigration reform” is approved, he warned, “it’s not going to work at all.”

The president stopped here on his way to Crawford, Texas, where he will spend 10 days of what is being called a working vacation.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security advisor Stephen J. Hadley are to come Saturday to discuss the Middle East conflict, said White House spokesman Tony Snow.

The president’s border visit is part of a recent administration counteroffensive against House Republicans, who have waged what amounts to a nationwide public relations campaign against the sweeping immigration legislation endorsed by Bush and adopted by the Senate. The House bill focuses exclusively on enforcement and security efforts.

Progress in Congress has been at a virtual standstill since the Senate passed its measure in late May. Though many on Capitol Hill are pessimistic about the chances of getting a final bill before the November elections, Snow told reporters there were “very active negotiations going on.”

Bush’s appearance at the Rio Grande station also reflects administration efforts to court GOP conservatives in both chambers by promoting initiatives to bolster enforcement on the 2,000-mile border with Mexico.

Many conservatives do not believe the government should take on initiatives like a guest worker program before border security is rigorously tightened.

The president spoke a day after House lawmakers held two of the 21 hearings scheduled across the country during Congress’ recess this month. House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said last week that these hearings were meant to highlight the Senate bill’s “very troubling provisions.”

“I believe that these hearings will help us produce a more responsible solution that the American people support,” Boehner said, referring to the House bill’s enforcement-only approach.

In response, administration officials have highlighted the deployment of the 6,000 Guard troops by their self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline, as well as $2 million in supplemental funding to add federal prosecutors dedicated solely to handling immigration offenses.

They have also hit the road to promote the president’s vision. Since June, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez has toured border states, written opinion articles for newspapers and given several speeches. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has also been drafted to speak in support of a broad rewrite of immigration law.

But no administration official appears to have worked as hard to promote the issue as the president. Bush’s appearance in Mission marked the 20th speech he has given on the subject this year -- most of them since April, just after the Senate began its first round of debate on the subject.

In 2004 and 2005, Bush gave four speeches on immigration, according to White House records.

In Mission, Bush returned to the basic themes he had stressed since outlining his vision for a guest worker program in January 2004.

Hidalgo County, where Mission is located, is 85% Latino and largely Democratic.

Standing before the crowd in rolled-up shirt sleeves and clearly enjoying the warm welcome, Bush stressed the need for a “common sense” solution to the immigration challenge.

“I know you cannot deport 10 million people who are here working,” he said. “It’s unrealistic.”

And Bush echoed themes he had touched on in recent speeches, stressing immigration as a source of national strength, whether economic or military. At a meeting Monday with local business leaders in Miami, Bush spoke of the entrepreneurial energy that he said immigrants often brought to the United States.

And a week earlier in Maryland, at a naturalization ceremony for three wounded Iraq war veterans, the president noted that more than 33,000 non-citizens serve in the military and that their contribution to the country’s strength should be honored.

Bush’s stop in Mission came a day after the Senate approved an amendment to the 2007 defense spending bill that would give the Army National Guard more than $1.8 billion for 370 miles of triple-layer fencing and 461 miles of vehicle barriers along the border.

“We are sending a signal that we are serious about stopping the flow of illegal immigrants over the border,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the amendment’s sponsor.

The measure was approved 94 to 3, with California Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein voting in favor.