DALLAS (AP) — Former President George W. Bush is set to give opening remarks at a conference on the benefits of immigrants to the U.S. economy.

The Tuesday conference is hosted by the George W. Bush Institute and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. It is part of a Bush Institute initiative on finding ways to achieve a 4 percent gross domestic product growth.

A book the institute released over the summer notes immigrants help grow the economy by increasing the labor force and filling niche jobs.

As he left office, Bush warned the Republican Party not to become “anti-immigrant.” Congress defeated his promised overhaul of immigration policy in his second term. Leading lawmakers, including fellow Republicans, thought provisions such as a guest worker program amounted to amnesty for illegal immigrants.

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