Speech #1100057308

Mr. President. over the last few weeks. the Senate has considered an issue that inspires strong feelings all aroundthe need for immigration reform. While the bill we were considering has many flaws. I am disappointed that some Members of this body decided to talk it to death. I voted to move this bill forward because Congress should act on this issue. and because I am hopeful that the bills flaws can be cured during the next stages of the legislative process. Despite our differences in approach. all of us in this Chamber agree on three core principles that form the bedrock of any comprehensive immigration reform. First. we must do something about the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants who live and work in the shadows. The status quo is simply unacceptable. It harms citizens and noncitizens alike and makes us less safe as a nation. Second. we must take the necessary steps to prevent illegal immigration in the future so that we do not find ourselves back here in the same position 20 years from now. And. third. we must establish a system that allows people who can make valuable contributions to our societyby. for example. strengthening families or performing jobs that cannot be filled by Americansto enter the country legally. These goals must be accomplished in a way that is consistent with our values as a nation. The fundamental problem with this bill. as it now stands. is that it fails to accomplish these objectives:. in fact. it contains several provisions that go directly against these objectives. With respect to the 12 million undocumented immigrants. the bill held genuine promise when it came to the floor. As both the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security have said. mass deportation is not a viable option. nor is amnesty for those who have broken the law. As introduced on the Senate floor. this legislation would have required those who are here illegally to come forward. pay hefty fines. pay taxes. learn English and civics. work. and wait in the back of the linebefore earning the privilege of permanent resident status. That would have been a workable solution. Unfortunately. this linchpin of the bill was undercut by the Senates adoption of an amendment offered by Senator CORNYN. The amendment removed critical confidentiality provisions that would have protected applicants for legalization from being deported if their applications were denied. The problem with this approach is that few undocumented immigrants will even apply for legalization without this protection. They will stay in the shadows. and we will be exactly where we are now. If this bill ultimately moves forward. it is vitally important that these confidentiality provisions be included in the House bill and retained in conference. otherwise. the bill will defeat its own main purpose. 1 also hope to see progress on other provisions that threaten to undermine the very purpose of the earned legalization program. I am particularly concerned about requiring undocumented immigrants to leave the United States in order to apply for permanent residence. Although the bill guarantees their reentry. this "touchback" requiremnent creates a major practical obstacle for many immigrants. especially those who come from farflung regions of the glob~e. Moreover. many undocumented immigrantswho may be receiving their information about the legislation from unreliable sources. or who may face language barriers in understanding its provisionswill be unwilling to leave the U.S. for fear that they will not be allowed to return. Again. a bill that creates a legalization program but discourages immigrants from applying for legalization gets us nowhere. Another vital component of comprehensive immigration reform is a system that allows employers to turn to foreign labor as a last resort when they genuinely cannot find American workers to do the job. Permitting these workers to enter the countryj legally furthers the second core principle of comprehensive reform: avoiding a future flow of undocumented workers who would otherwise create a new underground economy. Unlike the bill we passed last year. however. the bill the Senate considered this year has no meaningful path to permanent residence for immigrants in the temporary worker program. It requires workers in that program to interrupt their employment every 2 years and leave the U.S. for a period of 1 year. and it prohibits most of these workers from bringing their families to the U.S. Taken together. these provisions are a recipe for a massive new flow of Illegal immigrationonce again defeating the very purpose the program was meant to serve. I am also concerned that the temporary worker program contains insufficient protections for U.S. and foreign workers. I was pleased at the success of the DurbinGrassley amendment. which strengthened the bills requirement that employers recruit and hire U.S. workers before hiring temporary foreign workers.