Bush says "I do believe there should be a path to citizenship" for undocumented immigrants
CBSN
Former President George W. Bush spoke virtually at South by Southwest on Thursday, saying the nation needs a path to citizenship to bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows. The ex-president, in a conversation hosted by the Texas Tribune, said it's a political pipe dream to convince Americans that undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. a long time and paid taxes are going to go home.
Mr. Bush's comments come as Democrat-controlled House approved two immigration bills that would legalize subsets of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission. The bills passed despite fierce opposition by some Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who went to the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this week and accused President Joe Biden of inflaming the crisis. McCarthy and Republicans have not put forward their own plan. Mr. Bush said Thursday that instead of ignoring the situation, the nation needs to address it with a path to citizenship. He said it's in the nation's interest to bring people out of the shadows. The former president also said a whole toolbox of tools is necessary to enforce the border, including electronic equipment and manpower.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.