Speech #1090118504

President. the story of America is such that. as I started to look at that history. I found out that the very first Senator from Florida. when Florida became a StateI believe in 1854was a fellow by the name of Yulee Levy who was actually born in the Middle East. He was a fellow who had come to America as an immigrant and who ended up representing the State of Florida as the very first of two Senators who came. and he. in fact. beat me by a good little margin as the first foreignborn Senator from the State of Florida. But that is the sort of history our country is made of. This is such a timely and important debate. I am pleased that you would mention our President. who has been very steadfast and very strong on the issue of a comprehensive solution to our immigration problem. I love so much that you began this debate in such a loving way. in such a civil way. and in a way that allows us to think a little bigger and a little higher than the combat of the day and the rhetoric. frankly. which so often gets so heated. which so often gets so beyond the pale of what ought to be. I am proud of the Senate as the Senator begins this debate with such a note of civility. I believe we recognize first and foremost that our immigration system is broken. that we have to fix it. we have to set about fixing it. The Senator is so right when he speaks about the fact that it is almost too late to fix and we have to act and we must act now. It is important. too. that we focus on a comprehensive solution. It is obvious that we have to fix the border. All of us want to see the border be secured and protected. to be something other than what we have today. The resources will be there. we will do it. and it will be a commitment that we make first and foremost for border security. I think all of us. no matter where we come from. appreciate the legality involved in border security. but in addition to that. we have to be careful of the rhetoric. I dont believe we should allow the loudest voices. not necessarily the best voices. to make a definition of what amnesty is and what amnesty should be. I believe we should look to solutions that are rooted in what America is about and our American values.