Speech #1090119615

For several years. I have been working on a farmworker housing initiative to help address a tremendous shortage of safe and affordable housing for the people who work on our farms. All of these experiencesthe northern border. agriculture. education. labor needs. and housinghelp inform me on my view on immigration policy. I believe from that. that we need a holistic approach. Enforcement is important. Securing our borders is important. but if we leave out things such as education and job training. if we ignore the tools families need to rise above their circumstances and build a better life. we will be missing the big picture and we will be throwing away the ladders of success generations of Americans have relied on to make their families and. subsequently. our country stronger. Comprehensive immigration reform should do seven things: it should improve enforcement. it should treat the northern border fairly: it should include a guest worker plan which includes a path to citizenship it should provide a path forward so that people who are here have an opportunity to become citizens and realize the American dream. it should protect the rights of victims and refugees. it should not turn into criminals those compassionate souls who care for their wounds. teach their children. or feed their families. and finally. it should provide the resources to help families rise above their circumstances through education and training. Let me take a minute to talk about each of these priorities. First of all. we should improve our enforcement. and that means providing personnel. equipment. facilities. and resources to enforce our borders. In the wake of September 11. security at our borders and enforcement of our immigration rules are now more critical than ever. That is why I have pushed for years to hire more Border Patrol agents. deploy more resources along the border. including the northern border air wing. and to make sure we are using the latest technology to secure our Nations borders. We must continue to make investments in securing our border and protecting ourselves from those who seek to do us harm. Second. we have to treat the northern border fairly. We will not be shortchanged as we have in the past. If we are going to secure our borders. we cannot leave the northern border behind. Third. immigration reform should include a guest worker plan to keep our economy moving forward. We have tremendous labor needs in our country. especially in laborintensive fields such as agriculture. Our economy cannot survive without access to the workers we need.