Speech #1090132409

I oppose the amendment by the Senator from Louisiana because it makes enormous changes in the committee bill by eliminating the citizenship track. I understand the point of the Senator from Louisiana. He does not want to see the 11 million undocumented immigrants on the citizenship track. But I believe we should not have a fugitive class in America. that it is necessary. in order to bring these immigrants out of the socalled shadowsthey are out of the shadows for many purposes. and they are identifiable. working constructively in the American economyto have them come forward. we are going to have to provide incentives for them to do so. We have had a great deal of debate on whether there is amnesty in the committee bill. My own view is that we ought to tone down the rhetoric on that subject. not accuse one side of amnesty. trying to give away something that ought not to be given away. and in return not charging that amnesty is an evil argument. We ought to deal with what the facts are. The issue is whether it is in our national interest. considering all the factors. to grant citizenship to these 11 million undocumented immigrants when they go to the end of the line if they perform certain tasks. if they meet certain criteria. The criteria are substantial and onerous: the payment of a fine. the payment of back taxes. the criminal background checks. learning English. the learning of American history. working a substantial period of time. and then 6 more years at the end of the line. In a very realistic way. there is not really a lot of choice as to what we are going to do. It is totally impractical and unrealistic to think about deporting 11 million people. The question is. What do we do with them? How do we handle them? It has been said in the Senate repeatedly but not too often that we are a nation of immigrants. Many of the Senators who speak start off by referencing their own backgrounds. as I have. My father came to this country in 1911 at the age of 18.