[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 82 (Thursday, May 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6219-S6220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              IMMIGRATION

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to comment 
about the pending efforts to structure a comprehensive immigration 
reform bill. There are many questions which are being asked today in 
the corridors by members of the media as to what is happening on the 
efforts to structure a bill to come before the Senate next week, where 
a cloture vote is scheduled for Monday afternoon to proceed. The 
efforts to structure legislation have been in process now for 3 months. 
There have been approximately 30 meetings held for durations 
customarily of 2 hours or longer, customarily attended by 8, 10, or 12 
Senators. It is unusual to have a dozen Senators sit still in a room 
for 2 hours, but that has happened repeatedly as we have struggled 
through the very complex issues while trying for comprehensive 
immigration reform.
  We have bypassed the Judiciary Committee in this effort. Perhaps it 
was a mistake. In the 109th Congress, we laboriously worked through and 
produced a bill which came to the Senate floor and which was ultimately 
passed. There is a great deal to be said for regular order, where we 
have a text, amendments are proposed, there is debate, there are votes, 
and we move ahead through the committee system. The decision was made 
early on not to utilize regular order in the traditional committee 
system, and it may well have been an error, as we have been struggling 
to come to terms with a consensus.
  First, there were extensive meetings with Republicans alone. 
Democrats met separately. Then there have been the bipartisan meetings, 
as we have struggled to come to terms. The meetings have virtually gone 
round the clock. The staff has literally worked round the clock, the 
past weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, and the previous weekend. The 
administration has been dedicated; the President has been personally 
involved in the discussions. A group of us met with the President 
yesterday. Immigration was discussed. The administration has devoted 
the time of the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 
Commerce, who have been parties to these lengthy meetings, always 
present for the duration of the session. We think we are coming very 
close, but as we move through the analysis and discussion, it has been 
apparent that no matter what legislation is produced, it will be 
unsatisfactory to both ends of the political spectrum.
  The bill has already been criticized for being too lenient on 
undocumented immigrants and providing amnesty at one end of the 
political spectrum. It has been criticized at the other end of the 
political spectrum for not being sufficiently humanitarian and 
compassionate to the immigrants. Even though we have yet to produce a 
bill, it has been subjected to criticism. We have found that around the 
country some 90 cities have been engaged in legislative efforts with 
either passed or rejected laws trying to deal with immigrants' 
landlords. In my State, the city of Hazleton is trying to deal with the 
issue. Recently, we had a conspiracy by six men charged with a 
terrorist plot to attack the soldiers at Fort Dix. Three of those who 
have been charged are undocumented immigrants from Yugoslavia, illegal 
immigrants. There has been a virtual breakdown of law and order, as we 
have in this country an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants.
  We have the criticism expressed at one end of the political spectrum 
that there is amnesty here. That is factually wrong. Those who will be 
placed at the end of the citizenship line will be those who do not have 
criminal records. Where we can identify those with criminal records, 
they should be deported. You can't deport 12 million undocumented 
immigrants who are here illegally, but you can deport those who have 
criminal records. Those who will be placed at the end of the line for 
citizenship will be those who have paid their taxes, those who have 
established a good work record, those who were contributing in a 
constructive way to the American way of life.
  When objections are raised as to amnesty, the question is returned: 
What more can be done with these 12 million undocumented immigrants? 
What more hurdles can be placed to be sure we do the maximum to avoid 
the charge of amnesty? We are still open for suggestions. But the 
consequence of not moving to a solution on this issue is that we have 
anarchy. We have uncontrolled borders.
  The legislation we are working on goes a long way. It increases the 
number of Border Patrol officers from 12,000 to 18,000. It will have 
200 miles of vehicle barriers and 370 miles of fencing, 70 ground-based 
radar and camera towers, unmanned aerial vehicles, and detention space 
to hold some 27,500 daily on an annual basis. We have interior security 
provisions. We have tough employer sanctions because we are structuring 
a system where we can make a positive identification as to who is legal 
and who is illegal. This is an appropriate basis for imposing tough 
sanctions on employers if they hire illegal immigrants, because they 
are in a position to make a determination as to who is legal or who is 
illegal.
  At the other end of the political spectrum, there are objections that 
the

[[Page S6220]]

program is not sufficiently humanitarian, not sufficiently 
compassionate, and does not sufficiently provide for family 
unification. If we are to handle the backlog of people who have been 
waiting to come into this country with the existing requirements to 
gain citizenship, and if we are to deal with the millions of 
undocumented immigrants, we will have to have additional green cards. 
But there will have to be limitations so we do not have what is 
euphemistically referred to as chain immigration.
  We are working on a points system which we are trying to balance. It 
is very hard to satisfy all competing interests, to balance the demand 
for Ph.D.s and highly skilled people with the desire to provide 
opportunities for people who are not highly skilled. Certain points are 
being given to recognize the family, to have as many family members and 
as much on family reunification as we can, within a balanced system.

  The old adage that the devil is in the details is obviously present 
here. This morning one group of Senators met at a little after 9; 
another group of Senators met at 10:15. We are continuing the meetings 
as we try to come to grips and resolve these issues.
  The whole immigration issue is another third rail in politics. Social 
Security has been described as the third rail of our political system. 
There is no doubt that immigration is another third rail. It may 
supplant Social Security as the third rail of the political system 
because, no matter what we do here, both ends of the political spectrum 
will criticize us--criticize us for amnesty on one hand, criticize us 
on the other end of the political spectrum for not being sufficiently 
compassionate. Politically, it is a loser for those who are engaged in 
it. But we have a public duty to come to grips with this issue and to 
have comprehensive immigration reform. We can do that and insist on 
having border patrols and employer sanctions before we work through the 
guest worker program. It is truly, as we are structuring it, a 
temporary worker program, where people come to the United States for a 
period of time and go back to their native countries. It is a system 
where we are giving as much support and as much preference for families 
as we can on a balanced system, and as much to the high-skilled workers 
to balance off against the low-skilled workers.
  The most important thing, as I see it, is to move ahead and 
persevere, to try to structure a bill which is now 380 pages long--it 
is in text, thanks to the dedicated work of the staff--and to present 
it on the floor of the Senate and have the Senate work its will. Aside 
from the political perils, the object is to restore the rule of law and 
to bring these 11 to 12 million undocumented immigrants out of the 
shadows. The advantage to society generally is to eliminate this 
massive underclass, this massive number of individuals who are in the 
shadows, and to structure a system where they will, at the outset, have 
visas to stay here for as long as they like, so long as they comply 
with our laws and get into the citizenship line at the rear. We are 
looking to reestablish the rule of law and to avoid the anarchy which 
now characterizes our immigration system.
  I thank the Chair, yield the floor, and suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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