Former President George W. Bush said Tuesday the challenges on the nation’s southern border have been exacerbated by a lack of manpower and a deterioration of the discourse that demonizes immigrants for political gain.
Mr. Bush said the immigration system needs to be “reformed and fixed” and said the best way to frame the issue is through the lens of “border enforcement with a compassionate touch.”
“Two things I think will help alleviate that: one is an asylum process that is more robust. In other words, the border is being overwhelmed right now, and there needs to be more judges and more courts so people can have a fair hearing,” Mr. Bush said on “The Today Show.”
“Secondly, we need to change the work visas,” he said. “There are a lot of jobs that are empty, and there are a lot of jobs that need to be filled. I think a combination of those two would help alleviate some of the border.”
The nation’s 43rd president said he is hoping to “elevate” the conversation through his new book, “Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants,” which features portraits of immigrants he has come to know and has written their stories.
Mr. Bush said he wishes elected leaders would tone down the rhetoric on the issue.
“It is a beautiful country we have, and yet is not beautiful when we condemn and call people names and scare people about immigration,” he said. “It is an easy issue to frighten some of the electorate, and I am trying to have a different kind of voice.”
Mr. Bush said a major problem at the U.S.-Mexico border has been that border patrol agents are being pulled away from their duties to help deal with the spike in children streaming across the border.
“It just goes to show there is a shortage of manpower and focus down there,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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