Former President George W. Bush, greets Mondell Bernadette Avril after she was sworn in as a U.S. citizen during a ceremony at the The George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on Wednesday. Twenty new citizens took the oath of U.S. citizenship at the former president’s library. Bush also called for lawmakers to cut a deal on immigration.WASHINGTON – Divided on immigration, House Republicans bluntly challenged President Barack Obama’s willingness to secure the nation’s borders on Wednesday, and appeared unimpressed by George W. Bush’s advice to carry a “benevolent spirit” into a debate that includes a possible path to citizenship for millions.
Emerging from a closed-door meeting, GOP leaders affirmed a step-by-step approach to immigration but offered neither specifics nor a timetable – nor any mention of possible citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country unlawfully.
Instead, in a written statement noting that the White House recently delayed a key part of the health care law, Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other leaders said the action raised concerns that the administration “cannot be trusted to deliver on its promises to secure the border and enforce laws as part of a single, massive bill like the one passed by the Senate.”
Lawmakers streaming out of the two-hour meeting said Bush’s long-distance advice had not come up in a discussion that focused instead on the importance of securing the nation’s borders and a general distrust of Obama.
The former president’s ability to sway a new generation of House conservatives was a matter of considerable doubt, especially because many of the tea party-backed lawmakers have risen to power since he left the White House and are strongly on record in opposition to any citizenship provision.