Mr. President. I want to return to the issue before us and which has been before the Senate for the last week and a half. and to say it has been my pleasure to work on the issue of immigration reform and border security ever since I have been in this Senatea little over 3 years now. As a Senator from a border State. it will come as no surprise that I have actually spent a fair amount of time along the border talking to my constituents. as well as visiting Mexico and other countries that are a source of a large number of immigrants who come to our country seeking a better life. I believe that experience has given me some insight into what the challenges we have are when it comes to border security. Of course. we have proposals before this body to deal with this issue of our porous borders and the need to find some way to deal with the workforce demands of this growing economy of ours. We need comprehensive immigration reform. I have consistently called for comprehensive reform because I believe we will not fix the broken immigration system unless we address all aspects of the problem: that is. border security. interior enforcement. worksite enforcement. and the 12 million who are in our country without authorization. finding some way to allow them to reenter our immigration system legally. and to give them a second chance living in the country. not in the shadows but out in the open. and enjoying the benefits and protection of our laws. This is. as we have all discovered. an exceedingly complex issue. And no oneno onehas a monopoly on all wisdom or on suggestions for ways to improve the system.
Keywords matched
border security immigrants immigration