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White House Report, June 6: Immigration, Middle East, G8, Personnel

BUSH CALLS FOR RESPECTFUL DEBATE ON IMMIGRATION

President Bush, in June 6 remarks at the Artesia, New Mexico Border Patrol Academy, called on U.S. leaders to discuss immigration reform respectfully, using language that remembers “the values and ideals of America.”

Bush said, “The language I use in this debate is to remember we're from different backgrounds, different religions, different cultures, but ultimately, we're united under the great ideals of the United States of America,” adding “I expect everybody else in this debate to carry that same tone as well.”

The president said that since 2001, some 6 million people were sent back from the border for trying to enter America illegally. “People have no earthly idea how hard our Border Patrol agents are working,” he said. He went on to cite initiatives such as the future addition of new border security technologies, such as motion detectors, and doubling the number of agents along America’s borders as tools to help stem the tide of illegal immigrants.

The president also focused on his immigration reform bill by highlighting his guest-worker plan. One aspect of this plan would be a mandatory tamper-proof identification card for every legal foreign worker. Employers that hire workers who do not have this identification would be breaking the law and would face fines. (See related article.)

A transcript of Bush’s remarks can be found at the White House Web site.

WHITE HOUSE WELCOMES PROPOSED PALESTINIAN REFERENDUM

The Bush administration welcomed Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas' call for a referendum on implicitly recognizing Israel, and said it is important for the Palestinian people to "to wrestle with the issue of whether they want to have a two state solution" to the Middle East conflict.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said June 6 "once again ... [Abbas] has demonstrated that he's somebody who wants to work toward a two-state solution."

Snow was speaking aboard Air Force One en route to Artesia, New Mexico, where the president spoke.  The press secretary said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had told Bush that he would be holding talks with Abbas, but no date has been set yet for either the talks or for Abbas' proposed referendum.

"[W]e're just going to have to wait and see what happens -- whether he's able to have a referendum and what happens," Snow said.

For additional information on U.S. policies in the region, see The Middle East: A Vision for the Future.

BUSH TO JOIN G8 LEADERS AT JULY 15-17 ST. PETERSBURG SUMMIT

The White House formally announced June 6 that President Bush will attend the 2006 Group of Eight (G8) Summit, July 15-17 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

According to a statement from press secretary Snow, Bush will be meeting with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom, as well as a representative from the European Union.

"As at previous G-8 Summits, the Leaders will discuss continued cooperation on a broad range of international economic, security, and political issues," the statement said.  (See Group of Eight.)

BUSH TO NOMINATE CABRERA AS AMBASSADOR TO MAURITIUS AND TO SEYCHELLES

President Bush intends to nominate Cesar Cabrera to be the next U.S. ambassador to Mauritius, and to serve concurrently as the ambassador to Seychelles, according to a statement released by the White House June 6.

Cabrera is currently the president of Rocca Development Corporation, and has more than 25 years of commercial development and business experience.  He has also served on the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, according to the White House statement.