Speech #1090139026

Mr. President. I rise today to share my views on the work that the Senate has undertaken over the last several weeks on a very difficult and complex issuecomprehensive immigration reform. Before I start. I would like to acknowledge the work of many of my colleagues. who have spent years attempting to address various aspects of this issue and who have worked in good faith to get us to the place we find ourselves as we conclude debate on the legislation before us. Last month when the Senate first began consideration of this matter. the process fell apart rather suddenly because of procedural issues regarding which and how many amendments would be offered. These were legitimate concerns. since nearly 400 amendments were introduced. and since many of those amendments were intended to gut that measure. In order to get this reform right. we need to address all three components of immigrationborder security and enforcement. guest worker programs and. for undocumented workers who are currently in the U.S.. a path to "earned" citizenship. We need to also reconcile the fact that we are nation of immigrants with ongoing legitimate economic. social and national security concerns related to the undocumented individuals currently within our borders and the impact of continuing to welcome newcomers to our Nation has on those concerns. But let me be clear from the outset. Immigration reform must first and foremost be about protecting Americas national security. economy. and citizens from the myriad challenges we face in the 21st century. We must have no higher priorities than these. Fundamentally protecting our national security means securing our borders. I believe that the bill before us. with all the additions we have made as the Senate has worked its will on this measure. is an imperfect document. but probably the best we are going to achieve given the polarizing nature of many of the issues that have been debated. adopted and rejected. On a positive note. the bill does set the stage for the United States to greatly increase control over our borders and help prevent individuals from illegally entering our country. Among other things. it would provide advanced border security technologies to assist those tasked with protecting our borders. And it would improve our ability to enforce our immigration laws by making structural reforms and increasing personnel and funding levels where they are needed most. It would also double the size of the border patrol over 5 years. adding 12.000 new agents to patrol our borders. It would expand the number of interior enforcement officers by 1.000 per year over each of the next 5 years. It would utilize advanced technologies to improve surveillance along the border. creating a "virtual fence" to detect and apprehend people who are illegally attempting to enter this country.