Speech #1090061479

This would address another big challenge that we have. and that is the development gap between the United States and other countries. We. along with those other countries. have an interest in ending the oneway flow of workers. which only results in the drain of highly motivated workers from those countries and further impedes their development. Our proposal would not only require the sending countries to assist with border security. but it will require them to cooperate with the United States in bridging the development gap between our country and theirs. Foreign Minister Derbez of Mexico has said that "[T]he Mexican government has to be able to give Mexicans . . . the opportunity to generate the wealth that today they produce in other places." I could not agree more. Other countries need for their young. energetic risktakers and hard workers to ultimately return home. to bring back to their countries the savings and skills they have acquired in the United States. The bill we have introduced will require countries to enter into an agreement in which each country agrees to cooperate on border enforcement. to work to reduce gang violence and smuggling. to provide information on criminal aliens and terrorists. and to accept the return of nationals whom the United States has ordered removed. Lastly. let me cover the temporary worker program. I mentioned a moment ago that out of the 10 million or so people who have come to this country illegally. about 6 million are in the workforce. I believe the fact is many of these immigrants have come here to provide for their families. something all of us as human beings can empathize with and understand. Who among us would not do anything in our power. risk life itself. to provide for our families. even if it happened to be outside of our laws? We know many jobs being performed by immigrants in this country are jobs American citizens are reluctant to fill. I can only think about roofers working with hot asphalt in south Texas during August as the one example of that kind of job. Whether it is that or picking agricultural products. there are a lot of jobs. unfortunately. that Americans simply are reluctant to fill. We know we have a need for the work provided by many immigrants. What we provide for in our bill is a temporary worker program. That is something I believe can best be characterized as a workandreturn program. not a workandstay program. Some have said that is unrealistic. that you will never get people who come to the United States to agree to return. I guess we can all have opinions. but I have something even better than my opinion. The Pew Hispanic Center. a nonpartisan. impartial thinktank that looks at some of these matters. has done a survey of almost 5.000 Mexican immigrants who applied for matricula consular card. a Mexican identity card. at Mexican consulates in the United States. They asked migrants to fill out a 12page survey. and one of the questions they answered was this: Would you agree to work in a temporary worker program in the United States if it was legally authorized. even though at the end of that time period you would have to return home to your country of origin? By a ratio of 4 to 1. 71 percent to 17 percent. these immigrants said they would. I think that is solid evidence that people who are currently working in the shadows realize that they operate without the protection of our labor laws. without the protection of our criminal laws. and all too frequently they view law enforcement with suspicion rather than as an ally. They are looking for an opportunity to come out into the sunshine and to secure the protection our laws provide.