[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 7 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TOUGH, PRACTICAL, EFFECTIVE COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM PACKAGE 
                                 NEEDED

  (Ms. GIFFORDS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GIFFORDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak for the very first 
time in this distinguished Chamber representing the Eighth District of 
Arizona.
  Mr. Speaker, we have made some major accomplishments this week, but 
one area that particularly pertains to my district and to the State of 
Arizona has not been addressed, and that is the crisis in illegal 
immigration.
  For too long, Congress and Washington have failed to act. We must 
secure the border now. My district and the State of Arizona have paid a 
heavy price for this burden. We know it in our schools, our hospitals 
and our law enforcement agencies.
  We must move this year with a sense of urgency to pass a 
comprehensive immigration reform package that is tough, effective, and 
practical. We need to increase border security using modern-era 
technology, radar, drones, electronic surveillance. There must be more 
Border Patrol agents and more support for those Border Patrol agents.
  We also need tough employer sanctions for those employers who are 
knowingly hiring people illegally, and a guest worker program, so that 
people can come in and work legally, safely, and return back to their 
home countries.
  Working to pass such measures will be my priority in this 110th 
Congress, and I look forward to working with Members on both sides of 
the aisle on this important issue.

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