Mr. President. Members on both sides have voiced a lot of legitimate concerns about the immigration bill that we brought to the floor earlier this week. which is precisely what we were hoping for when we decided to move forward with it. We needed to air things out. Many of our Republican colleagues have rightly focused on border security anid their concern that people who have broken the law can somehow get away with it under the proposed legislation. As we have debated this issue on the floor. the American people have spoken very loudly. Phones have been ringing off the hooks. If we have settled anything this week. it is that Americans are not shy about expressing their views on immigration. It is my hope this debate will move forward until every apprehension will be addressed. Now I wish to voice a concern of my own. The Constitution says: All persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens. and are therefore free to vote. As a corollary. we have always maintained that no one who is not a citizen has a right to vote. But in order to preserve the meaning of this pledge. we need to make sure the influence of those who vote legally is not diluted by those who do not. those who do not abide hy the laws are not free to influence our political process or our policies with the vote. As we move forward on this immigration bill. we need to make sure we protect voters. protect the 15th amendment by strengthening protections against illegal voting. This is the principal concern. but it is also practical. The fundamental question we have been debating this week is what to do about the fact that 12 million people in this country are here illegally.
Keywords matched
naturalized border security immigration