Speech #1100047182

It can impede toleration and understanding. Fear can paralyze us with paranoia and blind us to reasoned and logical argument. Fear in the media and in the Halls of Congress have distorted the image of immigrants in this country. Much as sensationalist TV programming can make us believe that our communities are more dangerous than they really are. sensationalist characterizations of the immigrant population based on anecdotal examples or predictions of worstcase scenarios can falsely lead us to negative. reactionary. and unfounded opinions about immigrants. 1 can no longer tolerate the blanket generalizations used to cast our Nations immigrant population in a universally negative and threatening light. They do not reflect reality. They misrepresent our national interest with respect to immigration. These arguments polarize the public and prevent reasoned and productive dialogue. and they promote a legislative climate that distracts us from our national interest in reforming our broken immigration policies. We can all agree that we need comprehensive immigration reform. but we must also come to an understanding that demonizing immigrants will not get us there. Ostracizing immigrants in this country with venomous and inapt rhetoric will not move us toward the integration of newcomers into our economy. or the promotion of safe streets for our children to play in. or assimilation of the immigrant population into American society. It can only delay the time when the immigrant population becomes a fully functional and participatory component of our American society. It can only set back the day when we can guarantee the security of our borders and documentation of all individuals that cross those borders. Like my colleagues that emphasize tough border enforcement. 1. too. believe in reform that provides security for our country and documentation for all the individuals that enter American territory. I think that we speak with a common voice regarding our homeland security goals. Our approaches to talking about the issues of immigration and the methods for solving the problem may differ. but we share common goals in promoting our national and economic security. Debate over approaches to immigration reform is a topic for responsible legislative discourse. Today. my colleagues and I speak on a related topic about some of the immigrants that are the subjects of our larger debate over immigration. The immigrants we want to talk about are not threats to our national security. they are not threats to our economy. and they are not threats to our people. They. in fact. have demonstrated their solidarity with our Nation. Unquestionably. they wish to contribute to our security and to our economy.