Speech #1040206080

I am happy to say that my colleagues in the Senate recognized the importance of retaining this flexibility and voted to include this amendment in the final bill. While I support the general principles underlying this bill. I believe we must also find new ways to address the problems of illegal immigration. I am among the first to admit that we cannot afford to absorb an unregulated flow of immigrants into our country. However. I am concerned by the shortsighted approach that is taken to address this problem. Sometimes we find ourselves so caught up in the crises of the day that we forget to look at the root causes of problems. In the case of illegal immigration. I think we have fallen into this trap. We can continue to increase our Border Patrol and our enforcement activities in the United States. We can build a wall thatstretches along the United StatesMexico border and the United StatesCanadian border. While this may make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to enter the United States. I do not believe that these measures will solve the problem of illegal immigration. Similarly. we can tighten employer sanctions and cut off all public benefits for illegal aliens. in an attempt to take away the "magnets" which create the desire for people to enter our country with or without proper documentation. I believe we must look beyond these socalled magnets to focus on creating opportunities for people within their own countries so they arent compelled to leave in search of better opportunities to support their families. To do this. the United States must maintain its leadership in promoting human rights. democracy. and economic stability in our neighboring countries. and around the world.