Below is a transcript of Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight broadcast last night:

Read more about Senator Isakson’s position on our borders here. More Johnny Isakson’s please!

Please see bottom of this blog for info on sending a thank you to Senator Isakson for his wisdom and courage.

DOBBS: The White House, says President Bush tonight, will announce what they call visionary proposals to deal with our illegal immigration and border security crises. One leading member of the president’s party, Senator Johnny Isakson, has introduced legislation that would in fact require the president to secure our borders first before introducing any so-called guest worker plan. Senator Isakson joins us here tonight. Good to have you with us, Senator.

SEN. JOHNNY ISAKSON (R), GEORGIA: Thank you, Lou. Good to be here.

DOBBS: Why did you introduce the legislation?

ISAKSON: I ran for the Senate in ’03 and ’04. Biggest domestic issue in the state of Georgia was illegal immigration. And I committed myself to come here and try to find a meaningful solution.

And I think we have, by simply putting a trigger on any new program and saying, until you have secured the border and certified that it’s secure and appropriated the money, no new guest worker program. Otherwise, we’ll repeat 1986’s era, where Congress gave amnesty and had 20 million come into this country.

DOBBS: Senator, what has been the reaction among your colleagues, both in your party and in the Democratic Party, to your proposal?

ISAKSON: Last year, we got 40 votes on an amendment to the original bill, Kennedy-McCain. Seven Democrats, 33 Republicans. A lot of them went home and then came back and said if I had to do over it again, I would vote for that. I have had constructive conversations with McCain, and Graham, and Kennedy. It’s my hope that this year, we can make this the meaningful platform where we finally address this problem in America.

DOBBS: There has been so much game playing in this town on the issue of immigration reform. And I have to ask you, when the president’s releasing the excerpts that he did today, says that to take — in order to take the pressure off the border, we have to have a guest worker program. May I ask it this way, does that make any sense to you whatsoever?

ISAKSON: I have great respect for the president, but it does not make any sense. We made that mistake 21 years ago, and that’s why we have the crisis today. As long as it’s more attractive to get in this country illegally than it is legally, you’re going to continue to have that flow.

DOBBS: And the idea of securing the border, you’re talking about adding 14,000 additional.

ISAKSON: 14,000.

DOBBS: Border Patrol agents.

ISAKSON: 24/7 eyes in the sky, 20,000 detention beds, 2,500 port of entry people, and a verifiable I.D. to end this forged document industry that’s proliferated in the country.

DOBBS: It strikes me as an entirely reasonable approach and an absolutely critically necessary. I have said for some time, you cannot reform immigration law if you can’t control immigration.

ISAKSON: And you can’t call it comprehensive if you’re not securing the border.

DOBBS: Well, anywhere but this town you could.

But let me ask you this, if in point in fact this president continues to insist on these guest worker programs and amnesty, and the rhetoric that attaches, do you think there is any way in the world that it can be stopped with a Democratically-controlled House and Senate?

ISAKSON: It’s my hope, because it’s the people’s issue, and it used to be just border states were affected and certain towns. It’s pervasive in the country now. So it’s my sincere hope we can, but I hope the White House will have a vision and see what the problem is, and recognize border security has got to be the bridge to immigration reform.

DOBBS: Senator Johnny Isakson, we thank you for being here. Appreciate it.

ISAKSON: Thank you, Lou. Thanks.

DOBBS: Good luck.

ISAKSON: Thank you.

PLEASE THANK THE SENATOR HERE.