Immigration Reform

IMMIGRATION REFORM

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to respond briefly to the majority leader.

Pending before the Senate is a historic piece of legislation, maybe one of the most important bills we have considered in years. We are trying to fix a broken immigration system. It is entirely broken. Everyone concedes that our borders are out of control. At this point, we cannot control the flow of people across our borders, and we have no idea who is coming and going and staying in America. We couldn't afford that in normal circumstances. We can't afford it, certainly, when we are facing a war on terrorism where security is paramount.

The bill we have before us says: Let's fix the borders. Let's make sure we have the appropriate number of officers on the borders, the technology so that people are not coming across illegally. Let's do it right.

After 5 years of failure under this administration, we need to have borders that are better and stronger, and we need to know who is coming.

Secondly, we have to acknowledge that there are 11 or 12 million people in America who are not legally recognized. They are here. They are working every day. They are an important part of our economy, but they are not legally recognized. The question before us is, How do we bring them out of the shadows to the point where we know who they are, where they live, and where they work? The only way to do that is to create an opportunity for them to reach legal status. But it is something they have to earn, not just automatically, not amnesty, no free ride. Don't put them in the front of the line but say to them: If you are willing to struggle hard for 10 or 11 years and meet those requirements, we will give you a chance for the legal pathway to citizenship. That is what this bill is all about.

I yield the floor.

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