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WASHINGTON: US President George W. Bush on Tuesday appealed to Congress to overhaul immigration laws to let in "temporary workers" and legalize illegal aliens, while beefing up border security.
In his annual State of the Union speech, Bush told the new Democratic-controlled legislature that the time was right for a balanced approach to immigration, "without animosity and without amnesty".
On the enforcement side, he said the US Border Patrol was being doubled in size compared to 2001, to 18,000 agents, and new funding was available for infrastructure and technology.
Bush said there would also be tougher prosecutions and higher fines for employers of undocumented workers.
"Yet even with all these steps, we cannot fully secure the border unless we take pressure off the border – and that requires a temporary worker programme," Bush told US lawmakers.
"We should establish a legal and orderly path for foreign workers to enter our country to work on a temporary basis.
"As a result, they won't have to try to sneak in – and that will leave border agents free to chase down drug smugglers, and criminals, and terrorists."
Bush called also for the 11 million illegal immigrants estimated to be already inside the country to be given a chance to become legal, provided they pay a fine and start the process of gaining citizenship from scratch.
He denied this would amount to an amnesty, but stressed: "We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals."
Illegal immigration has emerged as an explosive political issue in the United States. It has been a dominant feature of the last several election campaigns and has sparked huge demonstrations by illegal immigrants desperate for US citizenship.
The previous Congress, controlled by Bush's Republican Party, failed to pass immigration reform after the Senate and the House of Representatives could not agree on fusing two vastly different bills.
But the president's new appeal delivered in his speech received warm applause from the Democrats who took control of Congress in last November's elections.
The US Chamber of Commerce also lent its enthusiastic backing, with employers complaining bitterly of major shortages of workers in industries like agriculture and tourism.
"The blueprint for a workable system is on the table. It's time to get the job done," commented the Chamber's vice president for labour and immigration issues, Randel Johnson. - AFP/so
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