Bush Sees Options on Immigration

President Bush, seeking to jump-start the congressional debate on immigration, said Monday that “massive deportation” of illegal immigrants would not work and that the U.S. could remain open to immigrants while controlling its borders.

In an hourlong presentation to an Orange County business group, Bush acknowledged the emotions on both sides of the issue. But in a message clearly directed at the harshest critics of illegal immigration, he said, “One thing we cannot lose sight of is that we’re talking about human beings, decent human beings that need to be treated with respect.”

Bush’s speech in Irvine coincided with the Senate’s return from a two-week recess, which began the same day that large rallies supporting immigrant rights were held across the country. More boycotts and protests are planned for May 1.

Short of calling for all illegal immigrants to be sent to their home countries, Bush offered something for nearly everyone concerned about the issue. He insisted that the borders be protected. He supported a course for some here illegally to gain citizenship. He renewed his plea for a guest-worker program, opposed by many Republicans.

And he delivered a reminder of the desperate economic needs -- to put food on their families’ tables -- that prompt people to risk their lives and spend thousands of dollars trying to enter the United States.

“You can be a nation of law and a compassionate nation at the same time,” Bush said.

Noting that U.S. authorities had captured 6 million people trying to cross the border since he took office in January 2001, Bush addressed those who want to deport the estimated 12 million people here illegally.

“Massive deportation of the people here is unrealistic,” Bush said. “It’s just not going to work.”

But he offered no new ideas to break the deadlock that has foiled congressional efforts to overhaul immigration laws.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the president planned to discuss immigration today with a bipartisan group of senators -- most of whom supported legislation that would create a guest-worker program, a path to citizenship, and allow many of those here illegally to work toward citizenship. That bill foundered on procedural measures this month.

A House bill passed in December concentrates solely on enforcement, an approach backed by some Senate conservatives who think border security must come first. Conservatives in the House, which returns from its recess today, see any legalization program as a reward for lawbreaking.

Bush spoke here just days after the Department of Homeland Security conducted widespread work-site raids and after Senate Republicans announced they would seek an additional $2 billion for border security in the supplemental spending bill being debated this week.

“When you combine this speech with the raids of last week and the talk in the Senate of adding enforcement money to the supplemental, they’re saying you can enforce the border and have a guest-worker program at the same time,” said Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a business-friendly public policy center.

Aides said Bush came to Orange County so he could deliver the remarks in a region where immigration was a key issue.

Costa Mesa was the first city in the nation to seek to train its police officers in immigration law enforcement, and Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona has sought such cross-training for his deputies.

It is home to Jim Gilchrist, a co-founder of the Minuteman Project, which Bush has called a vigilante group. And it was the birthplace of Proposition 187, the 1994 state ballot initiative that sought to restrict public services for illegal immigrants.

Outside the event at the Hyatt Regency near John Wayne Airport, about 250 protesters weighed in on a variety of issues -- immigration, the war in Iraq, environmental protection, even recognition of the Armenian genocide of 1915.

Most of those protesting Bush’s immigration policy said the president was too soft on illegal immigrants. Barbara Coe, coauthor of Proposition 187, said Bush “betrayed our trust. He’s put America up for sale in exchange for cheap labor.”

Times staff writers Nicole Gaouette and Matthew O’Rourke in Washington and Jean O. Pasco, Jennifer Delson and Christopher Goffard in Irvine contributed to this report.