Speech #1090100520

Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong opposition to the Border Protection. Antiterrorism. and Illegal Immigration Control Act because border security without immigration reform is no more effective than an umbrella in a hurricane. Our immigration system is flooded with undocumented workers because there is a fundamental mismatch between the number of noncitizen workers needed in our economy and the number of visas available. In 2004. only 359 people were admitted in the category of "unskilled shortage workers." and yet thousands ot illegal immigrants can find enough work to warrant the dangerous border crossing. The solution is obvious: bring legal immigration in line with the supply of jobs not taken by U.S. citizens and there would be little incentive to break the law. There is bipartisan legislationwhich I have cosponsoredto do just that. and even though everyone from the ACLU to the Chamber of Commerce agrees that it is the best solution. it wont get a vote today because the Republican Party wants some red meal to throw to the xenophobic fringe. So they will tell you that theyre fixing the system and protecting America by tuming millions of workers into criminals and telling the Border Patrol that theres no difference between a student who drops a class in violation of his student visa and a known terrorist. Theyre both "aggravated felons" according to this bill. The Department of Homeland Security has no control over the border. and this bill suggests that expanding the mission will somehow solve the problem. It also contradicts American values and numerous international treaties by: Allowing immigration officials. without judicial review. to return asylum applicants on the next plane home if they find their story to be unconvincing. Requiring lowlevel immigration officials to expel. without a hearing. anyone found within 100 miles of the border believed to be a recently arrived undocumented immigrant. and Permitting indefinite detention of noncitizens who have not even been convicted of a crime. including those who have fled persecution or who cannot be deported because they would be tortured if returned. Saying that this policy will stop illegal immigration or meet our employment needs or fix the immigration bureaucracy is patently ridiculous. This is a political game that I refuse to play. I vote "no".