Speech #1090122391

It is a tribute to Senator CRAIG. Senator FEINSTEIN. and Senator KENNEDY that we were able to reach a compromise on AgJOBS that the committee voted to include. This crucial legislation will enable undocumented agricultural workers to legalize their status and would reform the 112A agricultural worker visa program so that in the future. growers and workers will not continue to rely on illegal channels. I wish to mention that I was pleased the Judiciary Committee accepted an amendment that I offered. to ensure that people whose naturalization petitions are denied by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can seek judicial review. Citizenship decisions have historically been a judicial function. and it would have been a real disservice to our Nations traditions to prevent individuals who have worked hard to become U.S. citizens to be denied that most central privilege without a judges review of the decision. Of course. this bill is not perfect. It contains some very troubling provisions. I do not think that the National Crime Information Center database. which is the central criminal database used by local. State and Federal agencies around the country. should include civil immigration violations. and the International Association of Chiefs of Police has also expressed concerns about this. I also have concerns about other provisions in title II of the bill that require excessive deference to executive agency decisionmaking in immigration cases and that expand the categories of individuals subject to the most draconian immigration consequences. But overall. this is a good bill. I believe that if the Senate invokes cloture on. and ultimately passes. the Judiciary Committee substitute or something similar to it. we will be well on our way to fixing our broken immigration system. We will have chosen the right path.