President Bush has promised to step up efforts to close the border to illegal immigrants, while insisting that the crackdown be accompanied by a guest worker program open to the millions of people who are already in the country illegally. His tough talk on border security reflected a new push by his administration to respond to public anxiety about the effects of illegal immigration, as well as to pressure within his own party.
See "Bush Links Immigration Crackdown, Worker Plan", Warren Vieth and Nicole Gaouette, Los Angeles Times, November 29, 2005