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Immigration Issue Divides Parties, People

The debate over illegal immigration was a key topic Friday with three world leaders, the U.S. Senate and students who once again protested.
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/ Source: NBCPhiladelphia.com

Slideshows: 32 Famous Immigrants To America | San Diego Protests

The growing debate over illegal immigration was a key topic Friday with three world leaders, the U.S. Senate and students, who once again took to the streets in the second straight week of protests.

As he wrapped up the North America summit in Cancun, Mexico, President George Bush made it clear that he wants a guest worker program in the United States.

"There are people in our country doing work that Americans will not do. And those people ought to be given a chance to have a tamper-proof card that enables them to work in our country legally for a period of time," Bush said.

That stance puts him at odds with some members of his party, who are debating the issue in the Senate.

The current Senate immigration bill contains a guest worker proposal, in contrast to the much tougher House bill.

Some conservative Republicans feel a guest worker program amounts to amnesty for undocumented workers.

Meanwhile, students again took their debate to the streets as thousands walked out of school in San Diego, Las Vegas, San Antonio and Tucson, also in honor of Cesar Chavez day.

The protests were mainly peaceful. Many schools are going into lock-down mode in response to the walkouts and increasing penalties for students who skip out of class.

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