Speech #1100056973

It is why amnesty is no good. And the idea of us simply releasing people on their own recognizance because we do not have bed capacity in these detention centers makes no sense as well. With respect to employers knowingly hiring illegal aliens and our not prosecuting them under the lawunacceptable. When we have employers who know that the man or woman they are hiring is not here legally. that the documentation paperwork that is being presented to them is false. it is unacceptable that that employer is allowed to do that. to continue to do that. week after week. month after month. year after year. That think tank which told me recently that the chances of a person being eaten by an alligator were greater than a person being prosecuted under the law. whether that is true or not. we know this: Too few employers have been prosecuted. One of the best ways to send a chilling message back home to folks who are thinking about coming here is. one. make sure if they get caught they go to a detention center. If they are not here as a refugee. they are going to go home. And the time they serve in the detention center is not going to be pleasant. The best way to deter. to put a chilling effect on those who come across illegally is to make sure that employers know if they hire folks. they are going to pay a severe price. That sends a strong message to those who otherwise would take a chance and come here. The last thing I would mention is what to do about all of those people here who are undocumented. If there are 12 million. if some 60 percent of them are folks who came across the border illegally. if the other 40 percent who are people who came here legally stayed beyond the time they were allowed to stay here. and now they are here illegally. although they came legally in the first place. what do we do with all of those people? The legislation we have before us that we are debating and we have been amending for the last 2 weeks says: If you came here legally and stayed beyond your time. or if you came here illegally. we want you to step out of the shadows.