President Bush is calling on the new Democratic-controlled Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
During his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, Mr. Bush said the United States needs an immigration system that extends "hope and opportunity" to millions of people seeking a better life. He called for the creation of a temporary guest worker program, and bolstering security along the porous U.S.-Mexican border.
The president backed a plan approved by a Republican-led U.S. Senate last year that would have provided eventual citizenship to the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants. But that plan was derailed in the Republican-controlled House, which favored a bill focusing on tighter border security, including a long fence along the Mexican border to prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the U.S.
