Speech #1090131841

Mr. President. to set the stage for my remarks on my amendment. let me. first of all. tell you a little bit about myself. I am a product of the legal immigration system of the United States. My grandfather came here in 1903 and went through Ellis Island. There is nobody who has greater respect for the hope and opportunity and the laws of our country than do I. I was in the construction industry. and I know the great contribution the workers made to construction and to tourism and to hospitality services and to agriculture. I. also. know the issue before us is now the most important issue domestically before the United States. When I ran for the Senate in 2003 and 2004. the most commonly asked question after Iraq was: What are you going to do about illegal immigration? In the first speech on any issue I made as a Senator. I made the statement that I thought illegal immigration was the No. 1 domestic issue in this country. I rise to tell you my mind has not been changed. I think neither have the minds been changed of the American people because you have seen the intensity of the interest of all Americans in border security and immigration. My amendment is very simple. It says that before any provision of this Immigration Act could grant legal status to someone who is here illegally is in effect. the Secretary of Homeland Security must certify to the President and the Congress that every provision for border security and enforcement contained in title I and section 233 of title 1- is in place. funded. and is operational. There is a simple reason for that. In 1986. this Congress. under President Ronald Reagan. passed a border security and amnesty bill for the 3 million illegal aliens who were in this country. We enforced the border and granted amnesty. And 20 years later. there are 11 million to 13 million illegal aliens who have come because of the promise of this country and its opportunity but also because we have given a wink and a nod to the security of our borders. I want to emphasize that I am not just talking about something I am thinking about or that I read. I have been to our border. I took a codel with Senator COLEMAN in February. We went to Fort Huachuca in Arizona and saw the unmanned aerial vehicle working and identifying those coming across the border and sealing a 150mile stretch. In San Diego. at the border with Juarez. we saw where the barriers at Smugglers Gulch have effectively stopped the people coming through that gully and immigrating illegally into this country. We went up and down the border and saw the bits and pieces of security that worked. We also saw the over 1.500 miles of the border that are not securethe 1.500 miles that have allowed people to come here either through smuggling or through their own volition or by paying bribes to get here. to get into our workforce. to overcrowd our schools. to stretch the services in our emergency rooms and put great pressure on our civil justice system. It is time that we seal the border and secure it so that the promise of legal immigration works and illegally entering this country is not the preferred way to cross on our southern border. I commend the President for his remarks last night. The President last night said. in order. the five important things we must do.