Speech #1090120117

I commend the Senator from New Mexico on his amendment. It improves the bill being considered by the Senate. The Bingaman amendment enhances our efforts to be tough and smart in immigration reform by providing State and local law enforcement agencies with additional assistance. The Judiciary Committee sent a bill approved by a bipartisan vote of 126 to the Senate. It is a bill that is strong on enforcement. It is stronger than the bill introduced by the senior Senator from Tennessee. who started from the same place as the committee bill but did not include some of the enforcement measures added by amendment during Committee consideration and neglected some of the bipartisan improvements that we made. For example. the Frist bill does not include a provision added by the Committee at the urging of Senator FEINSTEIN to make tunneling under our borders a federal crime. The committee bill adds new criminal penalties for evading immigration officers and the committee bill includes a Feinstein amendment to add 12.000 new border patrol agents. at 2.400 each year for the next 5 years. The committee bill is enforcement " plus." It starts with strong enforcement provisions and border security to be sure. but it is also comprehensive and balanced. It confronts the problem of 12 million undocumented immigrants who live in the shadows. It values work. It respects human dignity.