Speech #1100050589

Madam Presidenit. I dont support and cant embrace the underlying agreement that has been struck. but I do believe every Senator should vote for cloture. and I want to talk about that. If you vote "yes" on cloture. you are voting to give the Senate an opportunity to move forward with tough. smart. and comprehensive immigration reform that secures our Nations borders. If you vote "no" on cloture. you are voting to maintain the status quo of failed laws and a broken immigration system that is weak on enforcement. leaves our borders and our citizens unsecured. while also allowing for continued exploitation and human trafficking. If we have to wait a couple of years. and that is what will happen if we dont move this now. then States and municipalities will pass their own laws. which often violate equal protection laws. can discriminate against those who are U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. and create conflict within otherwise peaceful communities. By invoking cloture. we have the opportunity to strengthen the screening process at our consulates and points of entry. to better use technology along our borders. to make sure our agencies have both the necessary staff and the resources to do their jobs. thus effectively tightening our border security and workplace enforcement. By invoking cloture we have the opportunity to create an equal playing field and ensure that Americas workers. wages. benefits. and health and safety standards are not undercut. Finally. by invoking cloture we have the opportunity to realize the economic realities in our society in which undocumented workers are doing the worst work that we cannot get many Americans to do. such as picking the fruits you had for breakfast. cleaning the hotel rooms for your stay. or plucking the chicken you had for dinner last night. We have an opportunity to vote to create a pathway to earned legalizationnot amnesty but earned legalization that will take many years. considerable fines. payment of taxes. and a new English standard that will be required for permanent residency for the first time in our history. That is what is at stake in the vote this evening. It seems to me we have to move closer to once again controlling our borders. restoring the rule of law. and maintaining our long. proud history as a nation of immigrants. Last Thursday. the administration and a group of our colleagues came to an agreement that is often referred to as the "grand bargain." Unfortunately. there are a number of details in this deal that. in my mind. create an unfair and impractical immigration system. undercutting the more sensible provisions. It is my intention. working with many colleagues. through a series of amendments. to help lead a charge to improve the deal by ultimately creating on the Senate floor tough. smart. and fair immigration reform. Very briefly. I believe the "grand bargain" has at least three serious flaws that must be fixedan antifamily bias that clogs the system. a temporary worker program that creates a permanent working underclass. and exorbitant fines. If we dont improve the "grand bargain." we could tear at the fabric of family reunification by eliminating four out of five familybased green card categories and capping green cards for parents at 40.000 a year. So much for family values not stopping at the Rio Grande River. as the President has talked about. If we dont improve the "grand bargain." we would enact a truly temporary worker program that labor doesnt support and that bars most temporary workers from any path to permanent residence. Without such a chance. these workers would be driven underground and could be exploited while creating yet another underclass of undocumented workers. If we dont improve the "grand bargain. we will require a family of four to pay up to $19.000 in fines and fees. which is far more punitive than what I have seen in the Federal criminal code for a variety of criminal offenses. such as the possession of firearms. possession of narcotics. and other things. and is impractical to luring those in the shadows to come forward and be identified and regularize their stays in this country. I believe what this country does on immigration represents the core of American values. How we treat this subject will either show the best or worst of America. and so while 1 am not supportive at this stage of the bipartisan comprehensive agreement that has been reached here. I urge Senators on both sides of the aisle to stand up. to vote for cloture. and to permit a comprehensive debate to start in the Senate and. hopefully. to work a bill we can ultimately be proud of. that can secure the Nation. fuel our economy. and at the same time guarantee we bring millions of people out of the darkness and into the light.