Reactions mixed on Bush border plan

President Bush on Monday pledged to put up to 6,000 National Guard troops on the U.S.-Mexico border while officials beef up the ranks of the border patrol. The plan was announced in a speech that reiterated a number of his earlier ideas on how to solve the nation’s immigration issues, such as a guest worker program and a “tamper-proof” ID card for noncitizens.

Local officials had mixed reactions, but most said they were pleased with the president’s plan to secure the border. Bush said the National Guard would be deployed to the border for a year while border patrol forces are increased by 6,000 agents. Bush also called on Congress to make “dramatic improvements in manpower and technology,” including high-tech fences, motion sensors and more patrol roads.

“We are a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws,” he said. “We are also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition which has strengthened our nation in so many ways. These are not contradictory goals.”

The speech was probably more welcome in business circles than some political ones. Costa Mesa restaurateur Ivan Calderon, who owns the Taco Mesa chain, said he liked the president’s overall message of taking a balanced approach that includes enforcement as well as ways for workers to come here legally.

“Immigration isn’t only about controlling who’s coming in but [also] ensuring that we fulfill the needs of the economy,” he said.

As for the border security plan, Calderon said, “It’s better to have our National Guard than to have the Minutemen out there.”

Newport Beach Rep. John Campbell said the border security proposal was the only part of Bush’s speech that he liked.

Although Campbell supports more legal immigration, offering a restricted form of immigration such as a guest worker program is useless if the restrictions can’t be enforced, he said.

“I think it [the guest worker plan] should be delayed behind the enforcement so we know when we have a worker who’s temporary, we know they’re only going to be temporary,” Campbell said.

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor said he doesn’t think 6,000 troops at the border will be enough, though he declined to give his own estimate and said it would be up to the president to figure out how many people are needed.

“I’m counting the days until he actually secures the border. I will believe it when I see it,” Mansoor said, adding, “I don’t think this is going to do it.”

The mayor, who spearheaded his city’s plan to train police for immigration enforcement, also continued to oppose a guest worker program.

“If we need more workers, increase the number that come here legally, but the ones that come here illegally are suppressing wages and are taking jobs that Americans do want, such as plumbing, construction and electrical [jobs],” he said.

In the 20-minute speech, Bush listed several major goals ? securing the border, creating a guest worker program and tamper-proof ID cards, and setting criteria so some people who have come here illegally can pay a fine and work toward citizenship. But some local observers complained that the president left a number of unanswered questions.

Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce President Ed Fawcett called the plan “a well-rounded approach, although very, very void of detail.”

For example, Bush said it’s unrealistic to try to deport all of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, and he said some should be allowed to apply for citizenship, but they’ll have to wait behind those who have followed the rules.

“Where does everybody stay in the meantime?” Fawcett said. “He doesn’t ? nor does anybody else, I think ? have a solution for that.”

Campbell was hoping Bush would address the border security bill the House passed in December and what, if anything, he thinks is wrong with it.

Despite all the media coverage of immigration, a solution may not be in the offing. Even if the Senate comes up with an immigration bill soon, it will have to be reconciled with the House version. Campbell said he doesn’t expect that to happen anytime soon.

“I still think there’s a wide gulf between what the Senate is talking about and what the House passed, and the question is can that gulf be crossed,” he said.

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