Speech #1040190259

Mr. Speaker. a recent survey I conducted found that over 90 percent of my constituents who responded support some type of immigration reform. Since my district is in Florida. that is not surprising. Florida consistently ranks among the top five States of residence for illegal immigrants. and consistently high levels of immigration exact a heavy toll upon our States taxpayers and infrastructure. Our citizens also pay the price for unchecked imnigration in the form of health. education. and welfare benefits that are diverted from lawful citizens to illegal allens. The overwhelming support for immigration reform that characterizes my district is not unique to Florida. however. It Is mirrored across the Nation. I am a cosponsor of this bill because I believe that Congress has an obligation to respond to the concerns of the American people and reform our immigration laws. The problems caused by illegal immigration are obvious. But a poorly constructed legal immigration system is also contrary to our national interest. America cannot be both the land of opportunity and the land of welfare dependency. and current law encourages many legal immigrants to participate in welfare programs directly or to bring elderly family members to the United States to retire at the taxpayers expense. Our immigration system should reward those who bring skills and initiative into this country. but it is not right to penalize our citizens by forcing them to pay benefits to people who have never contributed to the system. Support for immigration reform cuts across all economic strata. as well as ethnic and social lines. Without compromising our commitment to opportunity and diversity. we must take the initiative and reform our immigration laws in such a way that they serve the needs of our lawful citizens. The Immigration in the National Interest Act provides this opportunity. and I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the bill.