Speech #1030056886

I know the President is 15190 cc going to propose some legislation and. where we agree. I will certainly be pleased to assist him in any way I can. Immigration reform is not a partisan issue. I very much look forward to working with the Attorney General. who I think is going to be a superbsuperblinchpin in immigration reform activity because of her knowledge of the issue from serving in Florida. a State severely impacted by legal immigration and refugees and illegal immigration. and Doris Meisser. who has been appointed by the President as the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. I do not know how he could have made a more appropriate appointment--she knows the issue back and forth and is able to deal fairly and honestly and with groat clarity with the extremes on both sides. In immigration reform the extremes are very vivid. On one extreme are those who are xenophobic and racist. who just want to keep everybody out of the country. especially if they look foreign. On the other extreme is a unique group supporting open borders. I always refer to them as the "buttonyourshirtyourheartfellout" group. Hopefully. we can steer a course between those two extremes. I urge my colleagues to support a generous immigration policy and. hopefully. to support this legislation. I am greatly looking forward to working with my colleagues on that as I have in the past. It is not a partisan issue.