WASHINGTON, March 27 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush warned against playing on fears during the push for immigration reform.
A Senate committee is taking up the issue this week, considering a bill already passed by the House. That measure, which makes it a felony to be in the United States without proper papers, set off protests last weekend that involved hundreds of thousands of people.
"The immigration debate should be conducted in a civil and dignified way," Bush said in a speech during a naturalization ceremony in Washington. "No one should play on people's fears or try to put neighbors against each other."
The president has supported a reform plan that would institute a temporary workers' program but doesn't allow amnesty for illegal aliens already in the United States.
"I've laid out a proposal for comprehensive immigration reform that includes three critical elements: securing the border, strengthening the immigration enforcement inside our country, and creating a temporary worker program," Bush said. "These elements depend on and reinforce one another, and together they will give America an immigration system that meets the needs of the 21st century."
