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Analsysis: Amid Sagging Polls, Bush Bolsters Border

Council on Foreign Relations

May 16, 2006
Prepared by: cfr.org Staff

President George Bush called for the nation both to enforce its laws and welcome new workers in a major speech on immigration from the White House. " America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time," he said. Yet, in a move widely regarded as an effort to appease conservatives in his Republican party, Bush announced a decision to deploy up to 6,000 National Guard troops to the border with Mexico (MSNBC). The move antagonized Mexican President Vicente Fox—courted early in Bush's tenure as an ally—who called Bush to register his concern about militarization on the border (BBC).

Bush’s plan comes as Congress debates several highly controversial proposals to reform the nation’s immigration system. The issue has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets nationwide to rally for immigrants’ rights. However, opposition to immigration reform is also growing, particularly in states like California and Arizona, where residents say illegal immigrants overwhelm state services (LAT). The immigration debate is explained in this CFR Background Q&A by Esther Pan.

Some analysts said Bush, as the former governor of a border state, has always welcomed immigration as an invigorating force for America (NYT). But the Dallas Morning News says deploying National Guard troops along the border will be of little use, since they are not trained to interdict drug smuggling. The Los Angeles Times notes that, reflecting political sensitivities, the new guard force on the border will be nearly invisible on the ground. And the Arizona Republic calls Bush’s move a major step toward comprehensive immigration reform, but adds, “We only wish he had spent some of his political capital on this issue when he had a little more political capital to spend.”

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.