WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- Providing a route to citizenship for longtime illegal residents of the United States is a "rational middle ground," President Bush said Thursday.
In a speech at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, the president said he rejects the extremes of deporting all illegal aliens or granting amnesty.
"If you've paid your taxes, you've been here for a while, you can prove that you've been working, you've got a clean background; if you want to become a citizen you pay a fine, you learn English, you learn the values and ideals of America that have made us one nation under God, and then if you want to be a citizen, you can get in line -- but in the back of the line, not the front of the line," he said.
In his speech, the president continued to call for a new temporary worker program as well.
Bush is pushing Republican leaders in the House to accept the immigration bill adopted by the Senate, which includes a route to citizenship along with increased enforcement and border controls.
