The WHTI will play an important role in securing our borders. but it must be implemented in a reasonable. fair. and well thought out manner that minimizes negative impacts on trade. travel. and tourism. By voting to extend the deadline. we are giving the Departments of State and Homeland Security additional time to study and correct the various implementation issues related to the WHTI. I am also pleased that the immigration bill addresses another key border issue: the security problem that is posed by trash trucks entering this country. My amendment. which was accepted by the bill managers. would stop the importation of Canadian waste if the Department of Homeland Security can not show that the methodologies and technologies used to screen these trash trucks for the presence of chemical. nuclear. biological. and radiological weapons are as effective as those used to screen for such materials in other items of commerce entering the United States by commercial vehicle. Finally. I want to thank the managers of this bill for accepting my amendment that would protect thousands of individuals who fled religious persecution in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Due to delays in the immigration bureaucracy. many of these individuals have not yet had their day in court. and. of those who have. many have been denied asylum based on changed country conditions since the war. My amendment would make these individuals eligible for legal permanent residency if they would have received that status but for the bureaucratic delays. The comprehensive immigration bill before us will make our borders more secure while creating a workable temporary worker program that protects U.S. jobs. I will support this bill and hope that the conference committee will return a final bill similar to it.
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immigration