Speech #1100069245

He said there will be another day. that this is one of the great issues of our time. and that America was better off for having had the debate. HARRY REID comported himself with great dignity and great leadership because there will be another day. There has to be another day on the issue of immigration. simply because what we have now on the books is a law this Senator voted for in 1986 as a Member of the House of Representatives. a law that has never been enforced by the U.S. Government and never has been obeyed by the people who were supposed to obey the law. What was estimated back in 198621 years agoto be 2 million. maybe 3 million illegal folks in this country. because the law was never obeyed. in many cases by employers who were supposed to be the fulcrum of enforcing the law. that they would only hire legal entrants into this country. and on top of it was never enforced by the U.S. Government. created a condition that so many people have blasted the very legislation we have been considering of amnesty. What we have now is amnesty: That 2 million or 3 million 21 years ago would grow to 12 million illegal aliens today. That is amnesty. Amnesty is what we have today because the law was never enforced or obeyed. That is what we have to correct. Now. sadly. because of the experiences we have had over the last 21 years. not only on the question of immigration. but then from the lessons of September 11. 2001. we realize there is another reason we must control our borders. so desperately necessary to the welfare and the protection of this country. the protection of the homeland. Because of those two main reasons. we will live to see another day. and we will pass an immigration law to bring us into order out of the chaos which is the current condition. I commend the Senator from Colorado as he gave a personality profile of so many of these wonderful Senators here. and it is a Senate family. You get to know each other on a personal basis. and you see how on occasion a Senator will rise to an occasion. All of the people whom the Senator from Colorado mentioned certainly merit that distinction. But what the Senator from Colorado didnt do is he didnt talk about himself. The Senator from Colorado has done one of the most remarkable jobs of acclimating to the Senate within a short period of time and becoming so effective. and especially on an issue such as immigration. for which he has great passion and compassion. So I wanted to add my little comments to all of those the Senator mentioned who have so wonderfully stood tall under very difficult circumstances. It is quite unusual when a subject will touch a nerve that will create such passion on both sidespassion that gets so heated that the sides wont talk to each other.