President Bush, seeking to rebuild ties with Mexico, pledged Wednesday to intensify efforts to overhaul U.S. immigration laws and crack down on illegal drug trafficking.
Bush said that he senses there has been a change of attitudes in Congress about updating immigration laws, from skepticism last year to recognition now that changes are in U.S. interests.
“I will work with Congress, members of both political parties, to pass immigration law that will enable us to respect the rule of law — and at the same time, respect humanity,” Bush said in a news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Bush also fielded questions surrounding the firings of eight U.S. attorneys by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Bush, facing a huge fight within his own party for his immigration plan, called immigration an important but sensitive issue.
“I say important because a good migration law will help both economies and will help the security of both countries,” Bush said. “If people can come into our country, for example, on a temporary basis to work, doing jobs Americans aren’t doing, they won’t have to sneak across the border.”
Border security will be enhanced by a good migration law,” Bush said. “Then we can focus our assets on drugs, guns and criminals. I don't want to predict legislative successes, but I can tell you my mood, and my mood is optimistic. The mood in the Congress has changed from skepticism to knowledge that ... a bill will be in the nation's interest."
For the seventh straight day on his Latin American trip, Bush shrugged off a question about his nemesis, leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Bush would not even use his name.
Bush agrees with AG on attorney firings
Bush was also asked about the circumstances surrounding the controversial dismissal of eight U.S. prosecutors. He said he was troubled by the Justice Department’s misleading explanations to Congress of why it fired the attorneys, and that he expected Gonzales to fix them.
Bush said he stood by his attorney general, despite calls for his ouster.
The president said Gonzales was right to say Tuesday that errors were made in the handling and explanation of the dismissals.
“Mistakes were made. And I’m frankly not happy about them,” Bush told reporters.
“Any time anybody goes up to Capitol Hill, they’ve got to make sure they fully understand the facts and how they characterize the issue to members of Congres,” Bush said. “And the fact that both Republicans and Democrats feel like that there was not straightforward communication troubles me and it troubles the attorney general. So he took action, and he needs to continue to take action.”
While he said the way the Justice Department handled the firings has generated confusion, Bush maintained that the reasons the eight were fired "were entirely appropriate."
Gonzales and Bush's former White House counsel, Harriet Miers, floated the idea of firing all U.S. attorneys two years ago. Democrats are demanding Gonzales be fired — refused by Bush — and want to know whether top political adviser Karl Rove, another longtime Bush aide, was involved.
Protests a centerpiece of visit
Violent protests marred Bush’s visit to Mexico, with demonstrators lobbing concrete blocks at his hotel, smashing up a nearby town hall and battling riot police outside the U.S. Embassy in the Mexican capital.
Tuesday’s disturbances were only the latest clashes during Bush’s tour of Latin America, where many blame him for tougher U.S. immigration policies and increasing violence in Iraq. Police fired tear gas and sent baton charges against thousands of anti-Bush protesters in Brazil, and scores of rioters broke shop windows and ripped computers from offices during the president’s visit to Colombia.
Bush was preparing to return to Washington on Wednesday afternoon after the news conference. Protesters who marched against Bush for two straight days planned a mock trial of the U.S. leader outside his hotel before he leaves.
Late Tuesday, about 100 demonstrators battered the metal barriers surrounding Bush’s hotel, trying unsuccessfully to pull them down as they screamed: “Murderer!” Many tossed rocks or heavy chunks of concrete over the barriers at riot police lining the other side.
A Mexican radio journalist was injured when she was hit in the chest by a rock. She was treated at a hospital.
Bush was dining with Calderon at a hacienda outside of town at the time of the protest.
Later, the group marched to the city’s municipal palace, and a few masked protesters shattered some of the building’s windows and sprayed graffiti outside. Hundreds of riot police responded, detaining several protesters and lining the usually tranquil city square.
‘Bush is desperate’
Tourists dining at sidewalk cafes watched the protests curiously and took photographs and videos with their cell phones.
Erin Graham, a 24-year-old student from Houston, Texas, was in the square with her husband and two small children when the riot police suddenly arrived. She said she ran over to see what was happening, while her husband stayed behind with the children.
“Studying Mexican history, I have read about this a lot,” she said as police vans sped by, their lights flashing, “but I wanted to see it in person.”
In Mexico City, several hundred demonstrators burned U.S. flags in front of the U.S. Embassy and waved banners that read: “Bush, you are not welcome in Mexico. Go to hell.”
“Bush is desperate because Latin America is moving toward the left,” said protester Guadalupe Fernandez, 64.
Barrage of concrete
A group of about 30 masked demonstrators clad in black led the attack against thick lines of riot police, unleashing a constant barrage of concrete they ripped from the sidewalk.
Mexican police responded with tear gas, pepper spray, and baton charges, throwing back rocks and clubbing demonstrators down.
Several protesters were arrested or injured, one with blood pouring from his head. Lorenzo Fernandez, the commanding officer at the scene, said the police were only defending themselves.
Leftist leaders have won elections across the continent in recent years, often with anti-U.S. campaigns. Chavez, the Venezuelan president, is Bush’s most outspoken critic in the region, and he has gained many allies in part with generous aid and subsidized oil.
Bush’s tour was aimed at countering Chavez’s influence in the region, prompting the Venezuelan leader to lead a rally against the U.S. leader at a soccer stadium in Argentina, then set out on his own tour of Venezuela’s Latin allies.