Speech #1090171364

Mr. Speaker. as a nation founded and built by immigrants. the United States has a proud history of reaching out to foreigners and offering refuge and opportunity to those who seek it. We must. however. find better ways of ensuring that people who wish to enter our country to study. to work. to reunite with family. or to seek refuge--do so legally and maintain their legal status so they can be integrated properly and fully into American society. The current immigration system is broken and requires comprehensive reform that strengthens border security. bolsters enforcement of immigration laws. recognizes the importance of the immigrant workforce to the U.S. economy. and provides a realistic and practical solution for the twelve million undocumented immigrants residing within our borders. Thus it is not sufficient to focus entirely on border security. The bill before us today. however. addresses only one aspect of the immigration problem. Studies have shown that a large portion of people living illegally in this country entered through legal. workbased immigration channels. but then failed to renew their status. This shows that a bill focusing primarily on border enforcement will not prevent the increase of immigrants living in this country illegally. Therefore. while immediate measures need to be taken to address the status of immigrants residing both within and outside our borders. we must work to ensure a responsible measure is produced that secures our border and enforces current law. does not penalize American businesses. and addresses the undocumented workers already living and working in our country. While I will vote for H.R. 6061 today as a step forward in securing our borders. I continue to hope that this Congress will enact a more thoughtful and longlasting solution to this most pressing issue.