Bush Speaks With Martha Raddatz

May 18, 2006 — -- President Bush told ABC News' Martha Raddatz that he's been willing to take on members of his own party over the issue of illegal immigration because he doesn't want the United States "to lose her way over an immigration debate that causes such emotions that we forget what's made us great."

Here is a transcript of the full interview, in which they discussed the plan to have the National Guard involved in border security, the construction of a fence along the border with Mexico, and the temporary worker plan:

RADDATZ: Mr. President, one of the things that happened today is [California] Gov. Schwarzenegger said he's very concerned about the two-week rotation with the Guard. How would that work? How can they actually accomplish anything in two weeks?

BUSH: Well, actually, the Guard goes through training exercises and the Defense Department is going to work with the Guard here and work with the governors to explain why the two week shifts of different Guard units coming down here will help complement the border patrol. First thing is that people have got to understand is we're going to double the border patrol, from 2001 to today, but it doesn't happen overnight. So we've got to get additional help down here in order to get the border patrol to be able to do their job. And there's two-week rotations in Guards and it makes sense to bring them down here.

RADDATZ: But one of the things the Guard usually does is train for war ...

BUSH: Yeah, but there's units not training for war. In other words, there are units that are not all combat units. They are units that can complement what the border patrol is doing down here. We've got -- listen before I laid it out, I talked to the Defense Department, who talked to the Guard bureau to make sure that which we propose is reasonable and realistic. The governor of Arizona for example is using the Guard. And the Guards right down -- right down on the border here from states other than Arizona. It's a well-thought-out plan. And it makes sense. We gotta make sure that we secure this border.

RADDATZ: The sheriff in Yuma told us that today that there were 8,000 arrests, there were 8,000 detainees and he only had room for 50, 52?