Speech #1090138991

Mr. President. there has been a lot of talk over the last 2 weeks about immigration and the need for immigration reform. I agree our immigration system is broken. We need to secure our borders. protect American jobs and make sure those immigrants in this country are treated with dignity. I rise today to talk about two provisions that I fought hard to include in the immigration bill. First. the H2B visa program. which rewards those immigrants who play by the rules while protecting American jobs. And second. the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Act. This act rights a wrong and corrects a terrible injustice. It makes sure those who are not U.S. citizens but who are fighting to protect this country and have a green card can be a U.S. citizen quickly and easily. My H2B visa provision protects our borders by rewarding immigrants and employers who play by the rules. We are talking about workers who come here on a seasonal basis but return to their families when they are finished with their job. Workers who honor their legal commitment to come here. work legally at a job and return home when finished with their work. This provision protects American workers by requiring employers to recruit American workers before hiring immigrant workers. It makes sure small business can continue to operate and pay their U.S. workers 12 months out of the year. It keeps small and seasonal businesses open for business and guarantees the labor supply small businesses need during their peak seasons when they cant find American workers to take the jobs. This provision does not raise the cap. It allows employers who hire good guy workers. workers who have played by the rules and returned home after the work was done. These workers can be hired for another 3 years and not count against the annual cap of 66.000 H2B visas. It provides a helping hand to businesses by letting them apply for workers they have already trained to come back again. year after year and return home after the work is done. And it only applies to those who have already successfully participated in the H2B visa programimmigrants who have received a visa and have returned home to their families after their employment with a U.S. company. Small businesses across this country count on the H2B visa program to keep their businesses afloat when they cannot find local American workers to fill their seasonal needs. They can then turn to the H2B visa program. Without being able to get the seasonal workers they need. these businesses would not survive. These businesses try to hire American workers.