Protests continue to follow President Bush as he finishes out his Latin America tour. In Guatemala Monday, Bush heard more criticism on U.S. treatment of undocumented immigrants. For the first time, the president said he would like to see Congress pass new immigration laws by August. But he defended several controversial measures, including the construction of the Mexico border wall and carrying out mass deportations.

President Bush: “It is against the law for somebody to hire somebody in our country illegally. Therefore, the price is the result of law enforcement. That’s why we can’t say, 'Oh, maybe they are Guatemalans, and let's go get them.’ That wouldn’t happen. And so, you know, you got to understand that if we enforce the law, we’ll do it in a fair way.”

As Bush spoke, hundreds of protesters marched on Guatemala’s National Palace. More than 5,000 police officers were deployed. Demonstrators also scuffled with police in the ancient Mayan capital of Iximche.

Protester Cesar Pol: “We are protesting because we are against the visit of Bush. The U.S. financed the civil war in the 1980s when there were many massacres.”

Despite the protests, President Bush was able to visit the Iximche ruins. The Associated Press reports Mayan priests decided to purify the sacred archaeological grounds to get rid of “bad spirits” following Bush’s visit.