Former president George W. Bush had a message for Congress Sunday: Be more \u201crespectful\u201d of immigrants.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do want to say to Congress: \u2018Please put aside all the harsh rhetoric about immigration. Please put aside tryin\u2019 to score political points on either side,\u201d Bush told Norah O\u2019Donnell on \u201cCBS Sunday Morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I can help set a tone that is more respectful about the immigrant, which may lead to reform of the system,\u201d added Bush, who said one of his biggest disappointments in office was not overhauling the immigration system as he had hoped.<\/p>\n
During his time in office, the former president introduced an immigration reform bill that sought to give citizenship to 12 million undocumented immigrants, which failed in the Senate in 2007.<\/p>\n
Bush\u2019s interview included a tour of his Texas ranch and art studio, where he has painted a series of portraits featured in his new book \u201cOut of Many, One: Portraits of Immigrants in America.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former president recognized how lawmakers can manipulate the immigration issue to whip up fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem with the immigration debate is that one can create a lot of fear,\u201d he explained. \u201d\u2019You know, \u2018They\u2019re coming after you.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He emphasized that a \u201cnation that is willing to accept the refugee or the harmed or the frightened, that to me is a great nation. And we are a great nation,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n
In another segment of the interview airing Tuesday, Bush conceded that with an \u201cangry society, it\u2019s hard to punch through with compassion.\u201d He also insisted that there \u201cabsolutely\u201d are still compassionate conservatives, adding: \u201cI\u2019m one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bush supports creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who pay back taxes and pass background checks. Asked by O\u2019Donnell if he would lobby for such a program out of the Biden administration, he responded: \u201cI am right now. Whether my own party listens to me or not\u2019s another question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bush also took a shot at Donald Trump, saying that during Trump\u2019s time in office, \u201cabsolutely … we were short on humility,\u201d which he believes is critical for \u201ceffective\u201d leadership.<\/p>\n