Speech #1100069049

I say we have to find a rational solution to this problem. I know that passions have run high. but I. for one. am very pleased with the level of the debate in the Senate because. as we all know. sometimes this topic is susceptible to some pretty irresponsible language and dialog. This was not a rejection of our heritage as a nation of immigrants. We are a nation of immigrants. but we are also a nation of laws. And I think what the American people sawcertainly my constituents in Texas sawis the status quo of a kind of lawlessness and a lack of commitment to simple law and order which they wanted to see restored. I think if we demonstrate that we have heard the message they have sent usif we demonstrate that. yes. we are serious about border security. yes. we are serious about enforcing the lawthen I think we can continue that conversation and talk about the other aspects of this legislation that we need to continue to work on. What are the legitimate needs of American employers for legal workers? Certainly. we would prefer that they get legal workers rather than workers who are not respecting our laws. Certainly. we would all want. I would think. to have a system whereby someone can show up at a workplace and present a tamperproof. secure identification card and virtually guarantee that they are legally eligible to work in the United States as opposed to the kind of document fraud and identity theft that now runs rampant and which makes it impossible even for good employers trying to honor the law to know that the person standing before them can actually legally work in the United States. We recently had an example of a company. a Swift meatpacking plant. which was the subject of a raid by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service in multiple States. including my State of Texas. What they found was this company was using the only