Speech #1090122464

But my review of the agreement causes me some serious concerns about whether it represents something that reflects good policy or something that would warrant my support. First. I believe there is a grave risk that the proposal would represent a repetition of the mistake of 1986 when the Congress passed major immigration legislation. My colleagues will recall that it was that year Ronald Reagan signed a bill that was acknowledged to be now. in retrospect. two different things. The first is it was an amnesty for 3 million people who entered our country in violation of our immigration laws. The second thing we have come to realize in retrospect is it was a complete and total failure when it came to securing our borders and enforcing our immigration laws. Some have speculated it was the Federal Governments failure to provide employers a means to verify the eligibility of prospective employees that they could work legally in the country. and certainly the failure on the Federal Governments part is a large part of what is to blame. The corollary of that is the lack of employer sanctions for hiring an illegal workforce. In the past year. we have seen only three sanctions filed against employers for hiring illegal aliens to work in the United States. Some have said the reason that bill failed is because it didnt have any provision for a legal workforce. I am somewhat sympathetic to that argument because I do support comprehensive immigration legislation. but starting first with border security. We know our inability to control our borders is not only resulting in massive waves of illegal immigration. but we also know it is a national security risk because anyone who has the money to pay a human smuggler or has their wits about them enough to make it over here on their own could literally walk or swim or drive across our border because it is wholly unprotected between the authorized ports of entry. We know our Border Patrol is sorely undermanned with only about 11.000 Border Patrol agents for a 2.000mile southern border. and contrast that with 39.000 police officers in the city of New York alone. So we can see the Border Patrol has been vastly out manned and outnumbered when it comes to the number of people coming across. There were 1.1 million illegal aliens apprehended last year alone. The problem with the 1986 amnesty is that it led to additional illegal immigration. and we now have approximately 12 million undocumented immigrantspeople who have come to this country in violation of our immigration laws. And we have come to learn that our booming economy is a vast magnet for people who want a better life. While we can all understand that on a very basic human level. we also know the U.S. Government and the people of this country cannot accept anyone and everyone who wants to come into this country in violation of our immigration laws. Thus. we have a right. as every sovereign nation has. to regulate the flow of people across our borders in our Nations best interests. I worry that the legislation that is now pending before this body. the socalled HagelMartinez compromise. would actually result in a further magnet for illegal immigration because it. in part. rewards people for coming Into the country in violation of our immigration laws. It causes me great concerns in other respects as well. For example. the proposal would not be closed to felons and serial criminal offenders. Nor would it be closed to people who had their day in court but failed to comply with the deportation order. showing tremendous disrespect not only for our laws but for the safety and welfare of the American people. We also know the current bill that is pending before us prevents information sharing by the Department of Homeland Security to root out fraud. which is another problem with the 1986 amnesty because people were able to generate fraudulent documents to qualify for that amnesty. We know that false documents are a tremendous vulnerability of the American people to terrorists and criminals and others who want to come across our borders. and this bill does not do enough to allow us to protect ourselves by investigating and prosecuting that kind of fraud. by sharing information. and that is why we need some amendments to be argued and voted on by the Senate to fix the serious gaps in this bill. But perhaps one of the gravest concerns I have is this proposed compromise does not protect American workers. Indeed. under this bill. up to 12 million people will be able to get green cards. In other words. they will gain the status of a legal permanent resident and a path to American citizenship. This is without regard to whether our economy is in a boom status as it is now. with about 4.8 percent unemployment. or whether our economy is in a recession. where Americans are more likely to be out of work and competing with these 12 million new green card holders for employment. So I believe we need a provision in this bill that provides for a true temporary worker program that can reflect the ups and downs of the economy. Under this bill there will be a massive oneway migration of people from countries in Central America and Mexico and South America into the United States. and no incentives for their return and for maintaining their ties to their family and their culture and their country in a way that ultimately benefits their country as well.