Cornyn Statement On Immigration Reform Announcement

Press Release

Cornyn Statement On Immigration Reform Announcement

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement today regarding the announcement by Senator Kennedy and others that an agreement has been reached on comprehensive immigration reform legislation:

"While I appreciate the hard work by my colleagues as we spent countless hours negotiating this very difficult issue, I have serious concerns with the principles outlined in today's announcement.

"I simply cannot, and will not, support any legislation that repeats the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty. So we have to make a basic determination: Will this bill restore respect for our laws? Or will it have the opposite effect, and encourage still more disregard for our immigration and border security laws, placing us within a few years in the same untenable position we're now in?"

"I believe today's announcement is somewhat premature because specific legislative text has yet to be drafted on a number of key details. Until I have the opportunity to review this text, I will withhold from making more detailed comments. Clearly, however, there will be an opportunity to introduce amendments to this legislation, and I expect there will be a number of areas where that will be necessary."

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