Speech #1090100519

Mr. Chairman. as we concdude the debate on H.R. 4437. the Border Protection. Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act. I wanted to share with my colleagues a thoughtful letter I received outlining Republican philosophy and the need for comprehensive immigration reform. DEAR MEMBER OF CONGRESS: Watching the action in the House of Representatives this week. we feel compelled to write and express our disappointment with the direction of the debate about immigration. There can be no question: we as a nation need to retake control of our borders and restore the rule of law in our communities. But enforcement alonewithout more realistic. more enforceable laws in line with our need for foreign workers to do jobs Americans no longer want to dowill not solve the problem of illegal immigration. The restrictionist wing of the Republican Partythose who would revoke birthright citizenship for immigrants and build a fence from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexicohas been getting most of the air time this week. These members have seized on an emotional issue. and party leaders have humored themat the expense of more reasonable Republicans advocating broader. more realistic reform. But make no mistake: the reformminded wing of the party is alive and welland standing ready for the next phase of the battle. in the Senate and beyond. Who makes up the reform wing? There are political operatives like Ken Mehlman concerned about how immigration plays with Latino voters. There are businessfriendly Republicans at the Wall Street Journal. the Cato Institute and elsewhere who know that immigration is good for the economy: not just good for individual employers--in agriculture. foodprocessing. hospitality. health care. construction and other sectorswho depend on these workers to keep their businesses open and growing. but also for nativeborn workers employed by these companies and others that trade with them. There are securityminded Republicans like Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and his predecessor Tom Ridge who know that creating a system for immigrant laborers to enter the country legally is the best way to free up border agents whose real job is protecting us from terrorists. And then there are Republicans like Ronald Reagan and now George W. Bush who understand in a more general way that immigrants are good for the country: that they bring entrepreneurial energy and family values and fresh patriotismand that. as Reagan emphasized. the nation must remain a beacon to the world. None of these Republicans think enforcement or legality are unimportant. But they are convinced that the best way to restore the rule of law is to start with more honest. more enforceable immigration quotas--a temporary worker program more in line with the reality of our labor needs--and then make those realistic limits stick with all the means at our disposal. This is the approach that the Senate will almost certainly pursue when it turns to immigration in January or February. and it is the approach the President hopes to sign into law. perhaps as soon as next spring. House Republican leaders face a difficult challengeprecisely because of the way the issue divides us from one other. But we remain convinced that reasonand the partys traditional valueswill prevail in the end. Instead of trying punitively to enforce unrealistic law. the majority of the GOP will eventually come together around an immigration policy worthy of the label Republicanone that encourages the American Dream and rewards work. even as it restores the rule of law and enhances national security.