Speech #1100053869

To address one of those concerns. 1 introduced amendment No. 1189. which is my amendment that Senator CORNYN called up. and that refers to the supplemental schedule for Zs. This section. in my point of view. is a great inequity in the bill because it rewards lawbreakers over law abiders. Ironically. this inequity is in the same section of the bill that rewards wouldbe immigrants based on merit. The only thing that breaking the law should merit. in my view. is jail time. To be clear. I strongly support curbing chain migration and moving our system to one based on merit. However. I believe all applicants under the meritbased system should be on a level playing field. By now. most of us are familiar with the bills meritbased system that awards points to immigrants based on criteria such as employment. education. and knowledge of English. What many may not know is the enormous advantage the bills point system gives to people who have violated our immigration laws relative to people who are seeking to enter this country legally. I am referring to the socalled supplemental schedule for Zs. This separate schedule awards up to 50 bonus points. points that are not available to people who have never broken our immigration laws. to holders of Z visas seeking permanent status. Holders of Z visas are. by definition. lawbreakers. In fact. this bill specifically requires that an alien prove he or she broke the law in order to even be eligible for the Z visas. In effect. this supplemental schedule rewards people who entered this country illegally. Worse yet. it disadvantages other qualified people who seek to enter this country legally.