--- title: George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan Debate On Immigration In 1980 | TIME description: George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan answer a question from the audience about illegal immigration at a primary debate sponsored by the League of Woman voters and moderated by Howard K Smith in 1980. canonical: https://time.com/video/pJyPELRH/ og:title: George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan Debate On Immigration In 1980 og:description: George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan answer a question from the audience about illegal immigration at a primary debate sponsored by the League of Woman voters and moderated by Howard K Smith in 1980. og:url: https://time.com/video/pJyPELRH/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pJyPELRH/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan Debate On Immigration In 1980 twitter:description: George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan answer a question from the audience about illegal immigration at a primary debate sponsored by the League of Woman voters and moderated by Howard K Smith in 1980. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pJyPELRH/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan Debate On Immigration In 1980 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=ba9750da-8644-4195-935e-abf319d8992a&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=ba9750da-8644-4195-935e-abf319d8992a&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan Debate On Immigration In 1980 [Watch (HLS stream): George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan Debate On Immigration In 1980](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pJyPELRH.m3u8) (2:40)  _Published 2017-01-28. George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan answer a question from the audience about illegal immigration at a primary debate sponsored by the League of Woman voters and moderated by Howard K Smith in 1980._ --- Oct 11, 2023 5:54 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [George W. Bush Slips Michelle Obama A Piece Of Candy During His Father George H.W. 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But it has the problem has to be solved. The problem has to be solved because as we have kind of made illegal some kinds of labor that I'd like to see legal, we're doing two things. We're creating a whole society of really honorable descent family loving people that are in violation of the law and secondly, we're exacerbating with Mexico. The answer to your question is much more fundamental than whether they attend Houston School that seems to me. I don't wanna see a whole, if they're living here. I don't wanna see a whole a 6 and 8 year old kids being made. You know, one totally uneducated and made to feel that they are living with outside the law, let's address ourselves with the fundamentals. These are good people. Strong people. Part of my family as a Mexican. Can I add to that? I think the time has come with the United States and our neighbors, particularly our neighbor to the South. Should have a better understanding and a better relationship than we've ever had. And I think but we haven't been sensitive enough to our size and our power. They have a problem of 40 to 50 % unemployment. Now this can not continue without the possibility arising with regard to that other country that we talked about, with Cuba and what it is stirring up. Of the possibility of trouble below the border. And we could have a very hostile and strange neighbor on our border. Rather than making them, or talking about putting up a fence, why don't we work out some recognition of our mutual problems, make it possible for them to come here legally with a work permit? And then while they're working and earning here, they pay taxes here. And when they wanna go back, they can go back. And they can cross and open the border both ways by understanding their problems. This is the only safety valve they have right now with that unemployment that probably keep the lid from blowing off down there. And I think we could have a fine relationship, and it would solve the problem you mentioned also. [ APPLAUSE ] ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan Debate On Immigration In 1980 ","description":"George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan answer a question from the audience about illegal immigration at a primary debate sponsored by the League of Woman voters and moderated by Howard K Smith in 1980. ","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pJyPELRH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-28T17:52:40.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pJyPELRH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/pJyPELRH/","duration":"PT2M40S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/pJyPELRH/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```