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WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Monday that overhauling the nation's immigration laws "is not going to be easy" and warned critics against stoking anti-immigrant feelings by calling them a threat to the nation's identity or a burden to the economy.
"The immigration debate should be conducted in a civil and dignified way," the president said as the Senate prepared to tackle the hot-button election issue of what to do with the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants this week.
Bush used a naturalization ceremony for swearing in 30 new citizens from 20 countries and five continents to press his call for a "guest worker" program. The Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, faced a midnight deadline for completing a bill.
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