They work night and day. but their moment comes when they become part of America. They are proud of where they came from but even more proud of the fact that they are part of the United States of America. When any political party in history has decided to make antiimmigration their standard and their value. they have withered and disappeared as they should. They are ignoring and turning their back on who we arewhat America is all about. I was part of a group 2 years ago. We sat downfour Democratic Senators and four Republican Senatorsand we worked for months to write a comprehensive immigration reform bill. I will tell you the names of the Senators so you know there was no secret deal here. JOHN MCCAIN led the Republicans. the former Republican candidate for President of the United States. By his side was LINDSEY GRAHAM. Republican from South Carolinait was not exactly viewed as a liberal State but a very conservative oneand MARCO RUBIO of Florida. whose father and mother were immigrants to this country. refugees from Cuba. and JEFF FLAKE of Arizona. a conservative Republican by every measure. That was the team on the Republican side of the table. On our side of the table we were led by CHUCK SCHUMER. from the State of New York. chairman of the immigration subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee. I joined him as a member of the Judiciary Committee and someone that has been involved in some of these issues for a long time. There was BOB MENENDEZ. the head of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus. which is a caucus of one at this point. by himself. the son of Cuban refugees who came to the United States. and MICHAEL BENNET of Colorado. The eight of us sat down for months. literally for months. hours at a time. sometimes angry and ready to walk out of the room. We wrote a bill. a 200page bill to rewrite the immigration laws in America. to fix the broken immigration system. Then we took it to committee. and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. PATRICK LEAHY. had open hearings and allowed any amendment to be offered that anyone wished.
Keywords matched
antiimmigration immigration refugees immigrants