Speech #1100051736

You see them in hotels and in restaurants. and you see them in construction and housing. So they have becomne an indigenous part of the California workforce. This bill puts together reforms in immigration with a process to bring those people out of the shadows. What has bothered me over these days. as I listen to the television and read in the newspapers. is I hear the drumbeat. and I even see small signs on automobiles that simply say "amnesty." This bill is not amnesty. What is amnesty? Amnesty is the categorical forgiveness of a crime. an event. or whatever the issue may be. This does not do that. This sets up a roadmap. which is complicated for someone who wants to remain in this country. to be legal. to be able to work legally. and perhaps even someday get a green card. and maybe someday further off. become a citizen. Well. there is an 8year road created in this bill. There are fines of $5.000 plus an additional $1.500 fee for processing. There is a touchback. which may be changed in a further amendment. but at this stage in the debate it is this: If during that 8year period the individual who has now achieved this Z visa. which gives them the right to work in this country. decides they want to pursue a green card. they would go to their country of origin. to the nearest U.S. consulate. and with the Z visa they can come in and out of the country at will. They dont have to stay in their country of origin. What they would do is file their papers. They would submit their fingerprints. and they would turn around and come back into the United States. Then. electronically. the evaluation would be done after the present line for green cards expires. Everybody waiting in line legally for a green card gets it. They would have the opportunity to get a green card. This is estimated to be between 8 and 13 years. During that period of 8 years. they would have to reup. come in and prove that they have done the things the bill requires them to do. This is not an amnesty. Now. the other part is that there are changes made in what is called chain migration. Currently. one person on a green card can bring in any number of family members. This is changed to the nuclear family. The person holding the green card can bring in their spouse and their minor children. That future green card. after the 8 yearsafter the list is expunged. future green cards would be granted on the basis of the point system. which deals with merit in the sense of the availability of job. work. the educational attributes of the individual. the family. and other things. I think it is as close as we are going to get to solving this problem and creating the interior enforcement. the border stability. and the laws that are necessary to secure the rule of law when it deals with immigration. Mr. President. many Senators from both sides of the aisle worked long hours over the past several months to address immigration reform. And through the process of negotiation and compromise a tough. fair. and workable bill has been crafted. The bill before the Senate provides solutions to restore the rule of law. fix our broken borders. protect our national security. and bring the 12 million people now living illegally in the U.S. out of the shadows. 1 believe this bipartisan bill is a strong first step toward addressing illegal immigration in a fair and balanced way.