Speech #1090100516

Mr. Chairman. obviously our immigration system is broken. Recent reports have revealed that there are approximately 1012 million illegal immigrants within the United States. Unless we act quickly. this number is estimated to grow by 400.000 each year. The problem of illegal immigration has legal. economic and national security ramifications. As Peggy Noonan recently observed in the Wall Street Journal. "what does it mean that your first act on entering a countryyour first act on that soilis the breaking of that countrys laws? What does it suggest to you when that country does nothing about your lawbreaking because it cannot. or chooses not to? What does that tell you? Will that make you a better future citizen. or worse? More respecting of the rule of law in your new home. or less?" We are a nation of immigrants. but we are also a nation of laws. The fact of the matter is that illegal immigration violates our laws. and goes against our Nations dedication to the rule of law. It is wrong. both legally and morally. and must be stopped. From an economic perspective. illegal immigrants fill jobs that would otherwise be filled by American citizens or legal residents. Public funds are being used to provide social welfare benefits and services to those here illegally at the expense of the American taxpayer. And our border patrols are using precious resources to track down these scofflaws. when they can be focusing instead on preventing terrorists from entering our country. And in the aftermath of 9/11. we learned that illegal immigration endangers our national security. It is selfevident that we must secure our borders. Even it it were true that terrorists are not necessarily sneaking over the Mexican or Canadian borders. a proposition which I am certainly not prepared to admit. the fact is that the millions of illegal aliens in our country are creating an overwhelming demand for false identity documents and smuggling networks that could also be used to assist those with less than pure motives. Thats why I have cosponsored this legislation. As it stands now. it contains the reforms needed to remedy these problems. And I hope it will include my amendment to close a loophole in existing immigration law to ensure that criminal and security checks are completely finished before offering immigrants any sort of benefits. I would also caution against including any sort of language in this legislation providing a greenlight to legitimizing the millions of illegal "guest workers" here already. Mr. Chairman. it is a shame that those of us who support this legislation have been accused of being antiimmigrant or worse. when nothing can be further from the truth. We all understand why foreigners. the vast majority whom are wellmeaning and in search of a better life for themselves and their families. would want to come to America. We are the land of opportunity. but as I said before. we are also a nation of laws.