Speech #1030066365

I happen to find this body is a body that has some very entertaining Members in it. very colorful. very entertaining. Having used that expression with absolutely no intention whatsoever to even give a hint of a suggestion that I was making reference to anybodys race. only a meanspirited partisan could have even thought such a construct could have been made from my remarks. and I deeply regret the gentlemans lack of sense of the decorum of this body. Now. to get back to my point: The American people are very. very much concerned about illegal immigration. As much as we respect. as much as we are proud of the role that legal immigrants have made in the development of this great Nation. we deplore the hardship on the Nation and on the illegal immigrants themselves of all of the enticements that we have in current law that encourage people to risk. yes. in fact. their very lives to illegally enter this country. And as a matter of respect for the rights of the American people to keep the resources of this Nation to be used for those people themselves who are here legally and as a matter of concern for the safety and wellbeing of those who are now currently risking their lives crossing our borders under the most dangerous of circumstances. the gentleman from California has quite rightly brought forward an amendment that says as you create this new entitlement program. flying it as you will under a false flag. do not commit the error of putting forth in this program even additional taxpayerfunded services that will serve as enticements to people in hapless circumstances across the border. struggling to care for their families. to find this as an allure to bringing their family over here and putting themselves and their children at risk. The compassion in this debate. the compassion in this debate that is combined in fact with some understanding of the world in which we live. is with the gentleman from California .