Speech #980140210

Mr. Speaker. your refusal to bring the SimpsonMazzoli immigration reform bill to the floor is a classic example of the blind leading the blind. The unfounded assertions of one Member of this House have led another into an inexcusable exercise of power. That is not democracy. that is tyranny. Illegal immigration is a national problem and it can only be addressed in a national forum. This House must be that forum. Last year. our border guards arrested an average of 5.500 illegal aliens every single day. We know that hundreds of thousands were not stopped by those guards. Indeed. some estimates indicate that as many as 1 million illegal immigrants enter this country every year. It is clear that this flow has very nearly become an irresistable flood. We cannot blame these people for wanting to come to America. but we cannot abdicate our responsibility to those who have elected us. A fair and effective solution to the problem of illegal immigration must be found. The SimpsonMazzoli bill represents an honest attempt to find that solution. While it may not represent a truly fair or truly effective solution. it is something that we can only determine in an open debate on the floor of this House.