Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, fixing our broken immigration system is an urgent priority. As the son of an immigrant myself, I understand how important this is for families across the country and in my home State of New Mexico. I know how hard immigrants work in this country, how much they believe in America, and how much they are willing to give back to this Nation.

New Mexico's remarkable spirit is rooted in our diversity, our history, and our culture, which has always been enriched by our immigrant communities and family members. At the same time, the laws that govern our country's immigration system are antiquated and ineffective. I am encouraged that we are finally making progress toward a solution and finding some common ground on this critical issue.

We need a solution that includes a visa system that meets the needs of our economy, a tough but fair path to earned citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in our country who are undocumented and a plan that ensures the security of our borders.

Our broken immigration system does not match the realities of our Nation's economy. The H-2A program makes it difficult for farmers to hire the workers they need.

The H-1B program sends some of our most talented students back to their countries of origin, where they find themselves competing against American jobs rather than helping to create American jobs.

The labor pool, comprised of millions of undocumented workers, allows for worker exploitation and low wages. We must ensure that our laws enable our companies to retain the highly skilled foreign graduates of our universities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the STEM field, in order to harness their skills, their creative activity, and their entrepreneurial spirit to create jobs in America.

A commitment to reform our country's immigration system also requires a commitment to our students. As a strong supporter of the DREAM Act, I am glad this legislation acknowledges that students should be treated differently. I wish to especially thank Senator Durbin for his work seeing this through to the end.

Thousands of students across the country will gain more education and training, which translates into better and higher paying jobs. All these extra wages will circulate through the economy, spurring economic growth and new job creation.

I have met many DREAMers in New Mexico, and they are incredibly bright, hardworking, and, frankly, most of them don't know how to be anything but an American.

DREAMers represent much of what is best about our Nation--hard work, motivation, and a willingness to serve this country in uniform. I believe it is time to make the DREAM Act a reality.

Finally, those of us who represent border communities understand there are a number of challenges they face that are unique. We have made great advances in border security in recent years. Illegal border crossing apprehensions are at historically low levels and have fallen in New Mexico by more than 90 percent since their peak back in 2005. We have more agents, more technology and infrastructure devoted to our border than ever before. Our challenge moving forward is to continue to ensure our Nation's safety while balancing the need of our border communities to thrive and benefit from their unique binational culture and economy.

The mission of Customs and Border Protection is to both safeguard our Nation's borders and facilitate lawful international trade and commerce. However, in the Paso del Norte region, which includes both west Texas and southern New Mexico, not all of our ports of entry are operating at full capacity. The high volume of commercial vehicles attempting to cross at the El Paso port makes it extremely difficult for CBP to efficiently service all the would-be crossers while also maintaining security.

My amendment to extend the hours of operation at the nearby Santa Teresa Port of Entry will lead to more efficient trade between the United States and Mexico, will help to grow our economy, create new jobs, and invest in border security efforts at our Nation's ports.

On the subject of increased commerce and the Paso del Norte region, I want to thank Secretary Napolitano for doing her part. Earlier this month she announced a plan to extend the border commercial zone in southern New Mexico. This initiative was spearheaded by former Senator Jeff Bingaman at the Federal level, and it received bipartisan unanimous support back at home in the New Mexico State Legislature. Increasing the number of visitors traveling to the region will help U.S. businesses, local economies, and bring in more tax revenue.

New Mexicans are eager for a solution. DREAM Act students deserve a solution, and, frankly, our economy requires a solution. With this in mind, I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure we achieve accountable immigration reform that works for New Mexico and for our Nation.

Este es el ano.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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