WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush urged lawmakers in Congress Tuesday to "put politics aside and put courage first" by signing on to the new bill to overhaul the nation's immigration laws.

Related: Immigration Coverage

In a wide-ranging discussion of a compromise bill worked out in the Senate, Bush said it's time for Congress to "do what's right, not what's comfortable," and look beyond simple calls for mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

He made his comments at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia.

"The fundamental question is, will elected officials have the courage necessary to put a comprehensive immigration plan in place?" Bush asked against a backdrop of a huge American flag.

He described his proposal -- which has been agreed to by a bipartisan group of senators -- as one that "makes it more likely we can enforce our border and at the same time uphold the great immigrant tradition of the United States of America."

He talked at length about the new temporary visa program that is part of the bill.

The new "Z" visas will only be issued if certain security benchmarks are met, Bush said. These benchmarks include increased border fencing and vehicle barriers at the southern border, increased numbers of Border Patrol agents, installation of more ground-based radar and camera towers along the southern border and new worksite enforcement tools.

To obtain the visa, illegal immigrants would have to "come out of the shadows" to acknowledge they have broken the law, Bush said.

They would then have to pass a preliminary background check, pay a fine, return to their home nations to apply for a the temporary permit, and return to the U.S. on a probationary status. Probationary status may be revoked at any time if a worker is found ineligible for the Z visa.

Temporary workers would only be able to bring their families if they show that they have the financial means to support them and that their family members will have health care insurance while in the U.S., Bush said.

There would also be a cap on the number of family members who could be brought to the U.S., and temporary workers would be required to pay taxes on the income they earn while working in the U.S., and pay state impact fee of $500 -- and more for dependents -- to cover costs of public services used.

Temporary workers are not entitled to welfare, food stamps, Social Security insurance, non-emergency Medicaid, or other programs enjoyed by U.S. citizens, Bush said.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said it was Bush's first event scheduled to specifically pitch the immigration plan to the American public.

The training center where Bush spoke is a school for 83 federal agencies and provides services to state, local and international police agencies. More than 50,000 students graduated last year from the Brunswick school or one of FLETC's other academies.

The Senate is expected to wrap up work on the package soon. The House is then expected to take up the measure.

"Those determined to find fault with this bill will always be able to look at a narrow slice of it and find something they don't like," the president said. "If you want to kill the bill, if you don't want to do what's right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of it.

"You can use it to frighten people," Bush said. "Or you can show leadership and solve this problem once and for all."