Speech #1100080806

The objection to the proposed unanimous consent was to only a portion of the original Graham amendment of which I was a cosponsor. It completely overlooked 153. Pt. 15 20387 and ignored 45 percent of the Illegal immigration in this country caused by people who enter with a visa that is legal but then they overstay. My suggestion to the distinguished majority leader and other colleagues is that we not ignore that 45 percent but. rather. Include that as an acceptable expenditure under current law for part of the $3 billion. He has explained to me that there is objection on his side to including that 45 percent of illegal immigration as part of the accepted expenditures for this $3 billion. I am sure he has accurately reported what his conference or caucus has said. But my concern is that we not spend money on the border security component and then pat ourselves on the back and claim success when. indeed. the proposal would have ignored 45 percent of the cause of illegal immigration. We need an approach that will deal both with border security as well as the interior enforcement caused by visa overstays.