Washington DC - In his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, President Bush once again proposed a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal aliens, while denying that it is an amnesty for lawbreakers. While the president proposed a long list of immigration enforcement measures that may or may not ever be implemented, the illegal alien amnesty and guest worker program would provide immediate and irrevocable rewards for illegal aliens and employers who want easy access to low wage foreign labor.

In his address, Bush falsely offered only two options for dealing with mass illegal immigration: Allowing them to remain here after paying a fine, or mass deportation. The president consciously ignored strategies aimed at eliminating the reasons why people come and remain in the U.S. illegally, including the elimination of jobs and nonessential public services to illegal aliens. Such strategies have been proposed repeatedly, including by a commission that was established under President Bush's father's administration.

"Once again, President Bush is using the idea of mass deportations as a straw man to try to sell his unpopular amnesty guest worker proposal to the American public," said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "The fact that no one is seriously suggesting that the problem of illegal immigration be dealt with through mass deportations does not seem to deter President Bush repeatedly asserting that it is impractical.

Illegal aliens should be deported when they are caught, but everyone understands that what is needed is a policy that convinces people there is nothing to be gained by coming to the U.S. illegally, and convinces many who are already here that there is little point in remaining. Our policy should be aimed at getting people to deport themselves," Stein said.

President Bush again asserted that the minor conditions that illegal aliens must meet to gain legal status make it something other than an amnesty. The "meaningful penalty" mentioned by Bush is likely to amount to a fine that is less than what many illegal aliens paid smugglers to get them into the country in the first place. Other conditions, such as paying taxes, learning English and holding a job is hardly a penalty, but a basic expectation for anyone who lives in this country.

"President Bush can dress it up any way he wants, but an amnesty is an amnesty is an amnesty," said Stein. "Rather than alleviate the strain on state and local resources as the president suggested in his speech, his plan would increase burdens. The vast majority of people who would gain legalization, because they lack education and job skills, would continue to earn low wages. However, as legal residents, they would feel freer to access a variety of government benefits and services. In addition, we would certainly see a large influx of relatives who would enter the country to join newly legalized family members.

"Once again, President Bush has offered a plan that will overwhelm resources, undermine middle class workers, in exchange for more promises of future enforcement," continued Stein. "While the leadership of Congress has changed since Bush last proposed this legislative package, the American public's view has not. The American people know an amnesty when they see one and the same public outcry that confronted a Republican-led Congress will confront the Democrats if they attempt to pass Bush's unpopular proposal," Stein predicted.

FAIR's nationally recognized spokespersons are available for comment regarding the immigration policy aspects of the State of the Union Address.

Get the newsletter