Josephine. My father became a citizen of this country because he was born on our soil. In 1926. my grandfather became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America. In my home today. framed and hanging on the wall. are his naturalization certificates from 1926. when he raised his right arm and pledged his allegiance to the United States of America. There is no one who has greater respect and greater joy in the promise of this country and the opportunity of immigration. But we must begin restoring the respect for legal immigration and shutting the door on illegal immigration. or else those lines become blurred. and the stress we have on our social service system. civil justice system. public health system. and public education system that is stretched to the limit because of illegal aliens today will increase. We owe it to the history of our country and the greatness which makes us great to secure our borders. to honor legal immigration. and to move forward with a reform of illegal immigration that matches the economic needs of the United States of America. I stand on the Senate floor today committed to work with any Member of this Senate for comprehensive reform. as long as its cornerstone in its foundation is that we fix the problem on our borders. have it certified. and have that fix be the foundation for the modernization and reform of our immigration laws. Mr. President.
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illegal immigration illegal aliens naturalized naturalization immigration