Speech #1030139011

However. the public support was overwhelming and the message we received in Washington was unambiguous. Fortunately. that clear unequivocal messagethat we take action so that our children and grandchildren will not be burdened by the mistakes of our pastcontinues to resonate from coast to coast. I believe the immigration bill I am introducing today is consistent with this public outcry: Unreasonable levels of continuous immigrationlike uncontrolled deficit spendingwill only result in our mortgaging away both the future of our children and the sanctity of our environment. Mr. President. this is morally intolerable. We are unquestionably the greatest Nation on the face of the earth. But even our great country is financially and resourcefully incapable of absorbing upward of a million new immigrants every year. Yet under the current law. that is exactly what we are doing and will continue to do. And remember. this calculation does not include the enormous numbers of individuals who make their way into our country illegally or otherwise abuse our generous immigration laws which are almost exclusively premised on the notion that laws on the books--regardless of their enforcementwill be a sufficient deterrent to fraud and abuse. I am by no means suggesting that all immigrants abuse the system. Of course. they do not. What I am suggesting. however. is that the system and the laws perpetrating its existence. invite fraud and abuse. Lets face it Mr. President. our current system is like a busy intersection without a traffic cop: Sure there are laws on the books. but absent enforcement. there are too many accidents. My bill will allow us to avoid the many shortfalls and inequities caused by the current immigration system. It reconciles both our historic role as a Nation of immigrants and our unbreachable duty to provide future generations with a better world in which to live. Some may question the necessity of comprehensive immigration reform. Critics may scoff that this bill is unnecessary in light of the recent amendments passed in 1990. I would ask critics to examine some charts that I am going to show and see what our population will be if we maintain the status quo.