Speech #1100145834

Well. without the draw of the job. without the draw of income. the motivation to risk it all to cross the border illegally dries up. Building a bigger. stronger. taller fence simply doesnt cut it because. as we all know. if there Is a will. there is generally a way. Rather than create new obstacles that undocumented immigrants are going to try to figure out how to get around. we need to address the underlying motivation that is the magnet that drives them to migrate in the first place. The way to do this is to come down harder on the employers who provide them the incentive. My amendment would do this by increasing criminal and civil penalties against employers who hire undocumented immigrants. It seems clear that todays penalties are not a sufficient deterrent for these companies. So my amendment sends them a clear message: we are going to hold you accountable for your actions. There are going to be real consequences for breaking the law. My amendment would also prohibit employers who hire undocumented immigrants from receiving Federal contracts. There is simply no reason any company that receives a Federal contract should be breaking the law by hiring undocumented immigrants. It is interesting that there are some news stories about those who are actually building the wall doing exactly that. Isnt that ironic? The amendment I am offering isnt just about getting tough. it is about getting smart. Senator SESSIONS and others on the other side of the aisle would not only build a bigger. longer. taller fence along the bordersomething we have seen which simply will not work on Its ownthey also want to deploy a significant number of our National Guard to help support the Border Patrol. Let me say from the outset I am not at all opposed to sending reinforcements for the Border Patrol. I voted for those increases In the Border Patrol agents. They are understaffed and underfunded. and they need all the help they can get. What I am opposed to Is taking one resource away from a desperate situation in order to give that resource to another allegedly desperate situation. Just like our Border Patrol. our National Guard is stretched thin. Right now. there are over 15.500 members of the National Guard deployed In Iraq and Afghanistan. In the time between September of 2001 and November 30. 2007. close to 255.000 National Guard troops have been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.