Speech #1100165674

Mr. President. I think most of my colleagues may not yet be aware. and would probably be shocked to learn. that late Thursday afternoon during the Appropriations Committee markup. 110 pages of controversial immigration provisions were added to the war supplemental package in the form of four very significant Senate amendments to the House messages. It has been less than a year since the resounding defeat of the Senate immigration bill on June 28 of last year. where cloture failed by a vote of 46 to 53. The proponents of that legislation hoped to get 60 votes. and we walked down there in front of the American people and only 46 voted for it and 53 voted against it. Yet the amnesty proponentsthose who want to enact legislation that legalizes their status and forgives criminal activity. as opposed to creating a lawful system of immigrationare obviously continuing their determined effort to override the will of the American people and legalize the illegal alien population. without Congress acting to fulfill its responsibility to secure the border and create a lawful system of immigration. That is what it is all about. This is a determined effort to push through the amnesty and the legalization status for people who have entered this country illegally subsequent to our 1986 bill. in which we said we would never have amnesty again. and they continue to seek ways to do that. So now they are seeking to attach their plan to a bill that provides necessary funds for our soldiers in Iraq. The 110 pages of immigration provisions now hidden in the supplemental war bill are offered in the form of several amendments. Together. these amendments would legalize approximately 3 million illegal alien workers and their family members. They called it AgJOBS light. It is very bad policy. bad legislation. and should not become law. I dont think most of the Senators know this. and I ask that you pay attention to this. It would increase by up to fivefold the number of lowskilled temporary workers who will come to the United States over the next 3 years5 times the current legal rate of 66.000 workers under that H2B program. Some way. we have been allowing more in under that program. Yes. when the economy was booming. we did get up to about 120someoddthousand. This was on that basis even to be at least 2% times the highest amount we have ever admitted under H2B. at a time when people are being laid off. I understand the experts expect maybe today or tomorrow a higher unemployment rate to be demonstrated in our country. So why are we going to increase 21/2 times the immigration under that bill? It would also increase the number of employmentbased green cards that will be given out over the next few years by 218.000. It is called green card recapture. I note that a green card. in effect. gives permanent legal status to a person who has a green card. and a guaranteed path to citizenship. as long as they dont have some felony offense. It would reauthorize the Foreign Investor Visa Program. That program probably deserves consideration for renewal and reauthorization. I just thought we certainly have not discussed it in the Judiciary Committee. where I think it is supposed to be coming forward.