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Mexico City, October 26, 2006 – “Today President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006. The bill authorizes the construction of additional fencing along hundreds of miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. In this shared border region, the daily lives of Mexicans and Americans have intersected peacefully for centuries. But times have changed and our border region is no longer a safe place. Instead, it has become the stomping ground of drug-traffickers and coyotes bringing illegal immigrants to the United States. We must do more to take back our border from these criminals and recreate the way of life we used to enjoy there. Securing the border secures a peaceful future for us all.
President Bush also said today that he remains committed to comprehensive immigration reform. The President stated: ‘We must reduce pressure on our border by creating a temporary worker plan. Willing workers ought to be matched with willing employers to do jobs Americans are not doing . . . on a temporary basis.’
Immigration reform will provide a legal, secure, and orderly approach to immigration, replacing the dangerous and illegal flow of immigration that threatens lives daily.
In addition to constructing physical barriers, the bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to increase the use of lighting, cameras, satellites, and unmanned aerial vehicles along our southern border to make it safer.
The leaders of every sovereign nation owe a duty to their citizens to make their nation as secure as possible. We know this is a duty that Mexicans will understand and respect.”
(Click on the following to read the full transcript of the President’s remarks.)
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