Washington, DC – Former President George W. Bush (2001-2009) today highlighted the country’s immigration history as a “blessing and strength,” while encouraging lawmakers to elaborate comprehensive immigration reform.
In a speech during a ceremony of nationalization of new citizens, the former president said that “representatives (politicians) have a duty to regulate who arrives and when,” local media reported.
He also added that in order to fulfill that responsibility “it is worth remembering” that US immigration built the country as it is now known.
“In the midst of all the complications of politics, let’s not forget that immigration is a blessing and a strength,” Bush added at the headquarters of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, located in Dallas, Texas, which is a museum dedicated to his mandate and that he has a replica of the Oval Office.
Former Prime Minister Laura Bush (2001-2009) accompanied her husband and repeated the same idea in her speech by linking immigration with the history of the state of Texas.
“We are a state so rich for all the cultures that have settled in our land,” said the former lady.
The Bush rhetoric contrasts with that of many current voices of the Republican Party and even that of the president, Donald Trump, who has opted for a toughening of immigration policies and last year probed the possibility of eliminating the right to citizenship by birth, contemplated in the Constitution.
However, Bush predicted that “fair” and “free” immigration policies will take hold, but should start by recognizing a “clear” responsibility on the border.
“The borders are not arbitrary and they need to be respected along with the good men and women of immigration services and the Border Patrol,” he said.
Precisely the George W. Bush Presidential Center published a list of recommendations that called for “maintain or expand future flows of legal immigration,” establish a path for the undocumented to obtain citizenship and strengthen immigration laws. (EFEUSA)
