Speech #1090122760

The test will be whether it is made so onerous by its implementation that those in this designated category will come forward at all. We will all need to work to make that a reality so that they know that we value them. their families and their hard work. The most recent arrivals. those immigrants after January 1. 2004. are offered no special treatment. I was concerned about similar aspects of the Committee bill. There are no incentives to come forward. They are merely told to leave the U.S. and apply for one of the limited visas that will be authorized. They could try to come back as legal temporary workers. If we do not. I worry that the Majority Leaders announcement of a "breakthrough" will have the unintended effect of having created a false impression and false hopes. I commend him for changing his position over the course of the last week. I am delighted that he and others who had been opposing comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship are joining us in the effort. But an announcement is not the enactment of a new law. I urge people. especially the undocumented. to remember that. We are still a long way from enacting fair. comprehensive and humane immigration reform. None has yet passed the Senate. And certainly fair immigration reform has not passed the House. The cruelest joke of all would be to raise expectations and false hopes by premature talk of a solution when none has yet been achieved. especially if It remains elusive and that promise is not fulfilled. So while I am glad that some Republicans have dropped their opposition to establishing a path to citizenship for many. I worry that many others may be left behind. I also urge everyone concerned about the lives of those who are undocumented to remain cautious and focused on enacting a law. and on what it will provide in its final form. It would be wrong to just pass a bill that ends up serving as a false promise to those who yearn to be part of the promise of a better life that is America. Our work on immigration reform is a defining moment in our history. We are writing laws that will determine peoples lives and what it is that America stands for. I continue to urge the Senate to rise to the occasion and act as the conscience of the Nation. I will continue to work on immigration reform so that the laws we enact will be in keeping with the best the Senate can offer the Nation and the best that America can offer to immigrants. I hope that our work will be something that would make my immigrant grandparents proud. and a product that will make our children and grandchildren proud. There will be more rallies around the country next week by thousands of people in cities across the United States. They know what we Senators now knowour immigration system is 152. Pt. 5 5723 broken and we need to fix it. We need to fix it with effective. comprehensive reforms. The question is still open whether the Senate is committed to making real immigration reform. I have said from the outset that Democratic Senators could not pass a good immigration bill on our own. With fewer than 50 Democratic Senators. we will need the support of Republican Senators if the Senate is to make progress on this important matter. The majority leader had often spoken of allowing two weeks for Senate debate of this important matter. We now approach the end of that work period. I had hoped we would be farther along. When the .Senate did not complete work on the lobbying reform bill on schedulebecause Republicans refused to vote on the port security amendmentit cut into time for this immigration debate. When the majority leader decided to begin the debate with a day of discussion of the Frist bill. we lost more time. We were left then with one week. not two.