Washington – President Bush presided over a citizenship ceremony Monday for three soldiers injured in Iraq, calling them “men who knew the cost of freedom and were willing to pay that cost so others could live free.”
Bush also used his visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to promote his stalled proposal for overhauling the nation’s immigration laws. He urged Congress to break the current stalemate and pass legislation that “must be comprehensive.”
The three injured soldiers who became citizens were Spec. Noe Santos-Dilone of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Spec. Sergio Lopez of Bolingbrook, Ill.; and Pfc. Eduardo Leal-Cardenas of Los Angeles. Santos-Dilone was a citizen of the Dominican Republic; the two others were citizens of Mexico.
Bush called it “a joyful day for these men, a joyful day for me to be here with them. … It’s a privilege to be their commander in chief.”
“This isn’t going to be the first time these men have made such a promise. They took a similar oath when they became soldiers of the United States Army. And their presence here bears witness that they kept their word so that others might be free,” Bush said.
“As our nation debates the future of our immigration policies, we must remember the contribution of these good men and all who dream of contributing to this country’s future,” Bush said.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Bush signed an executive order making foreign-born members of the U.S. military immediately eligible for U.S. citizenship when they serve on active duty.
Trying to break the deadlock on immigration legislation, Bush said securing the nation’s borders must be the first goal. After that, he said, it must offer a temporary-worker program, impose tougher penalties on employers who hire undocumented workers, and resolve the status of the millions of illegal workers now in the country while honoring “the great American tradition of the melting pot.”
The Senate earlier this year passed a bipartisan immigration bill offering a chance at citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants and generally delivering on the goals Bush outlined.
But the House, which in 2005 passed a far more restrictive bill that would make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally, is holding a series of time-consuming hearings on the subject, hearings that have been criticized as a political maneuver to delay the legislation and help Republican candidates in an election year.
