Former President George W. Bush on Monday said in remarks before a naturalization ceremony in Dallas, Texas that “immigration is a blessing and a strength,” the Washington Examiner reports.
The former president appeared with his wife, former first lady Laura Bush, at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, where dozens of people took the oath of allegiance and became U.S. citizens.
"America's elected representatives have a duty to regulate who comes in and when," the former president said. "In meeting this responsibility, it helps to remember that America's immigrant history made us who we are. Amid all the complications of policy, may we never forget that immigration is a blessing and a strength."
The former first lady said in her remarks, "We're a much richer state for all the cultures that have settled on our land.”
Bush added that those taking the oath of allegiance that day not only become American, they also become official Texans.
"If you walk out of here with a little extra attitude in your step, it shows the culture is taking hold," he said.
The former president added that “just” and “fair” policies on immigration will come, but reform must begin "with recognizing a plain responsibility at the border.”
He said, "Borders are not arbitrary, and they need to be respected along with the fine men and women of the immigration services and the Border Patrol.”
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