But. instead. they are living an American nightmare of anxiety. exclusion. and exploitation. So it is time for us to find a constructive and positive way to bring these people out of the shadows and into the sunlight. One thing we all agree on is that the current immigration system is broken and needs reform. It is totally out of sync with todays social and economic realities. It is time to come up with a just and fair immigration system. one true to our values and our tradition. I know we can come up with a bill that is a winwin for all of us. To that end. we need at least three things: One. we need tough. consistent. effective enforcement of reformed immigration laws. Two. we need to enforce sanctions against employers who hire immigrants unauthorized to work. Three. we need a temporary worker program with documentation that gives immigrants a reasonable path to earning full American citizenship. As Senator KENNEDY said earlier. we are not talking about amnesty. That would be wrong. We are talking about a process of earned legalization. giving people who are here a practical way to earn citizenship by working. paying taxes. paying a fine. learning English. We need to deal with the reality before us. We have 11 million to 12 million undocumented people in this country. many of whomas we listened to Senator DURBIN talk abouthave lived here for many years. and many who came here as young children. as babies. Many of them who are here have children. They have other family members who are U.S. citizens. They are contributing to our prosperity. They are making a big contribution to our society. They may be undocumented: they may be living in the shadows. but make no mistake: They are de facto members of our American community. They are integrated into the fabric of our national life. They are filling jobs that. in most cases. go unfilled. and they are not going away.
Keywords matched
undocumented immigrants immigration