Bush's Last Chance on Immigration

Why the President may still have a shot at fulfilling his promise to fix America's broken immigration system

Robert Nickelsberg / Getty

Mexican nationals who illegally crossed the California border are apprehended and handcuffed 3 miles inside U.S. territory by Customs and Border Protection agents in Campo, California.

People say a lot of things on the campaign trail, but when Texas Governor George W. Bush stood before conservative Iowa crowds in 1999 and talked about the urgency of immigration reform, it was hard not to believe he was speaking from the heart. "Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande," he said back then, and the felicitous phrase became a touchstone of compassionate conservatism for his campaign and his presidency. For Bush, making immigration fair and safe "is a matter of very strong personal commitment," says his spokesman, Tony Snow.

Bush is about to get his last chance...

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