President Pushes Changes in ‘Outdated’ Alien Policy

President Bush last night called for reforming U.S. immigration laws, saying that the current system is “outdated” and that lawmakers need to create a new policy that accepts “hard-working people” while protecting America’s borders.

The president said current laws “invite chaos at our borders,” in one paragraph that was the only reference to immigration reform in his speech. Mr. Bush had pledged to make his “guest-worker” proposal a top priority for his second-term agenda.

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Mr. Tancredo said Mr. Bush, by devoting so little time to immigration, was saying volumes about the issue.

“It was short. It was designed to essentially pay attention to what he knows is a big issue, but he’s not going to dwell on it because he knows his position is not a winning position,” the Colorado Republican said, adding that he hopes that means Mr. Bush will not spend much political capital on this issue.

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