Speech #1100050532

I thank my friend and colleague from Colorado for his statement and his inspired leadership. We have worked on a number of different issues. I can recall the extraordinary leadership the Senator from Colorado provided last year when we debated comprehensive immigration reform. He brings to this issue a knowledge and understanding and perspective which is very special in terms of any issue. particularly this one. I have enjoyed working with him and look forward to continuing to do so. I hope our colleagues listened carefully to his message because he has demonstrated a thoughtfulness about this issue. as so many others have. a very strong. balanced judgment on these questions. I thank him. as always. for an excellent presentation and look forward to continuing to work closely with him as we move through the debate on whether we are going to take the opportunity to mend our broken immigration laws. I thank the Senator from Colorado. Madam President. today. we take up the solemn task of immigration reformnot just because we may but because we must. Our security is threatened in the post9/ll world by borders out of control. Our values are tarnished when we allow 12 million human beings to live in the dark shadows of abuse as undocumented immigrants. Our economy is harmed when our immigration system fails to protect the American dream of a good job and decent wages. Our competitiveness in the global economy is at risk when our employers cannot find the able workers they need. Our immigration system is adrift and urgently needs an overhaul from top to bottom. The answers are not simple or easy. We cannot meet this challenge by simply building fences. We need comprehensive and commonsense solutions that meet the immigration needs of this century. We begin this debate mindful that immigration issues are always controversial. There are strong views on every side of this question because the issue goes to the heart of who we are as a nation and as an American people. But we should remember in this debate that we are writing the next chapter of American history. Immigrants made the America of today and will help make the America of the future. 153. Pt. 9 13277 I am reminded of this awesome responsibility each time I gaze from the windows of my office in Boston. I can see the Golden Stairs from Boston Harbor where all eight of my greatgrandparents set foot on this great land for the first time. They walked up to Bostons Immigration Hall on their way to a better life for themselves and their families. So many Americans can tell similar stories of ancestors who came from somewhere else. Some built our cities. Some toiled on our railroads. Some came in slaveryothers to raise their families and live and worship in freedom. That immigrant spirit of limitless possibility animates America even today. Today. immigrants harvest our crops. care for our children. and own small businesses. They serve with pride in our armed forces.-70.000 in all. At this very moment. many are risking their lives for America in Iraq and Afghanistan. Immigrants contribute to scientific discovery. to culture and the arts. They help make our economy the most vibrant one on the planet. Our strength. our diversity. our innovation. our music. our hard work. our love of country. our dedication to family. faith and communitythese are the fruits of our immigrant heritage and the source of our national strength. They have made America the envy of the world. As President John F. Kennedy so eloquently wrote. the secret of America is that we are "a nation of people with the fresh memory of old traditions who dared to explore new frontiers. people eager to build lives for themselves in a spacious society that did not restrict their freedom of choice and action." Last week. we reached a historic agreement on a far reaching bipartisan immigration plan that lives up to this heritage. It involved hard negotiations between Democrats and Republicans. and it has the support of President Bush. Our plan is strong. realistic. and fair. It is a commonsense immigration policy for our times. It is tough at the border. It doubles our Border Patrol from 14.000 agents to 28.000. It hires 800 new investigators and 800 antismuggling officers. It builds more fences and more detention centers. and provides more stateoftheart. hightech border enforcement equipment. It is tough on employers who hire illegal immigrants in defiance of the law. Today. it is too easy for an employer to hire an undocumented worker and pay them substandard wages in sweatshop conditions. That hurts American workers. It depresses wages.