[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 106 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8677-S8680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IMMIGRATION
Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I come to the floor to speak about the
immigration reform issue. Before my colleague from Illinois leaves the
Chamber, I wish to say that at the end of the day, there were some
profiles in courage, people of the heart but also people of the mind
who wanted to do what is right for America and for America's future. I
cannot think of a better colleague than the senior Senator from
Illinois, Dick Durbin, for his passion, for his wisdom, for his
courage, and for his leadership. I look forward to continuing our work
together as we work on this and so many other issues that are so
important, both to Illinois and to Colorado and to the Nation and to
the entire world. I thank my colleague from Illinois.
As I reflect on the occurrences of the last several years with
respect to immigration reform, I wish to comment on several things. The
first of those is a long history related to an issue that is somehow
intertwined with my own life. Four hundred nine years ago, my
forefathers and foremothers came to the place we now call the State of
New Mexico, today known as the land of enchantment. It was in New
Mexico they decided to found what was the first settlement in the
Southwest and in that part of the State. They named that city the city
of Santa Fe, the city of holy faith. Over the centuries following the
founding of the city of Santa Fe, for the next 250 years, my family
continued to farm and ranch along the banks of the Rio Grande River,
from Santa Fe up to the north through communities such as those named
Espanola and Chama. Then in 1848, we didn't immigrate to this country,
but the border of the United States of America moved us over to the Rio
Grande River to the south. It was in 1848, the Mexican-American war was
ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The signing
of the treaty gave the people who lived in at that time the
Southwestern part of the United States the option of either becoming
citizens of these United States or going back not from where they had
come but back to the other side of what had been a new border that had
been created in 1848.
My forefathers and foremothers at the time having had 250 years of
history living in the Southwest, living in New Mexico, living in the
southern part of Colorado, made the decision they were going to choose
the path of America, the path of the future, the path of what is now
the greatest country in the world. It was a good decision. As a result
of that decision, we have been now in New Mexico and Colorado for a
number of generations. I am a fifth generation Coloradan. My family
goes back in New Mexico for 12 generations.
Going back to that history, and recognizing for the first 250 years
of my family's settlement of these United States they were part of the
Government of Spain, subjects of the Government of Spain for most of
that time, and then for about 20 years a part of the Mexican Government
when Mexico overthrew Spain in the War of Independence in 1821. So for
us there is that history which ties us so much to the lands of the
southwest.
Now, for me, when I think about that history, and when I see what
America has done for my family, I see very much an America that has
been an America in progress.
I look to the Civil War, where there were over 600,000 people in
America who died, as Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address, to give a
new birth of freedom to America. That was a statement by President
Lincoln in which he believed slavery and the separation and ownership
of people based on their race was something which was absolutely wrong.
He was able to keep our Union together with the blood that was spilled
both in the South and in the North.
It was out of that great Civil War of our times that we ended up with
what are now some of the more significant amendments of our Bill of
Rights. One thinks of the 13th and 14th and 15th amendments that
abolished slavery, that created equal protection under the laws, that
made sure everybody--no matter who they are, no matter where they come
from--had an opportunity in these United States.
But that was not the end of the march for progress because even with
the inclusion of those amendments, women were excluded and, in fact,
the U.S. Supreme Court, in interpreting those amendments, made the
decision that the Jim Crow segregation laws of the United States of
America were just fine; that it was OK for the Government of America to
sanction a place where you could have schools for Blacks, schools for
Whites, schools for people who were Hispanic. It was OK, in those days,
for women, according to the laws of this country, not to be allowed to
vote, to take a subservient and very secondary role in our society.
That was after a great civil war where over 600,000 people gave their
lives on the soil of our America. But yet America marched forward on a
path of progress. And we did, indeed, later on adopt the women's right
of suffrage that allowed women to vote in our society.
Through the long civil rights movement, led by great leaders such as
Thurgood Marshall, we ended up with a courageous Supreme Court in a
unanimous decision of those days where Justice Warren wrote the famous
Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education. In that 1954
decision by Justice Warren, what Justice Warren said in that decision
is that the place of separate but equal had no place in our America. He
said you cannot have a doctrine of separate but equal. That ends up
branding those who are of a different color with a sense of inferiority
and, therefore, under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment
there was no room for segregation in the United States of America. That
was a significant milestone in our march for progress in America.
We have made major steps since that point in time. The passage of the
Civil
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Rights Act, signed by President Johnson in the 1960s, ushered in a
whole new era of civil rights in America. We have continued to march
forward.
So, today, as we look at what happened with the end of the
immigration reform debate, I remain steadfastly confident and
optimistic the tomorrows and the weeks ahead and the years ahead will
bring about a resolution to this issue of immigration which we deal
with today, and in that resolution of how immigration legislation is
passed, to fix a system which is in chaos and in disorder today, what
we will find is, as Dr. Martin Luther King said, change in our
immigration laws will bend toward the arc of moral justice; that
justice is where that arc will lead us as we deal with the issue of
immigration reform.
I believe very strongly we had a good bill. It was not a perfect
bill. It was a bill that, obviously, had its critics, both on the left
and on the right. But I think it is important for us to step back and
ask ourselves what it is we were trying to do, those of us who worked
so hard on this legislation.
I believe, first and foremost, what we were doing is trying to
address the national security issues of the United States. We were
trying to do that by strengthening our borders and making sure we had
enough money to be able to hire the personnel and do the things we have
to do to enforce our borders and also to enforce our laws within our
country.
How can we sit here today in the United States of America and know
there are millions of people we do not know, or what their backgrounds
are, who are here illegally, how can we be satisfied that our national
security is taken care of when the borders are as porous as they are
today? This national security issue is an inescapable force that will
ultimately lead us to have the right resolution to dealing with the
issue of our broken borders.
We also have a system of immigration which is simply broken. It is
not working. What ends up happening is people point a lot to the border
to the south, Mexico, as though that is where the issue of immigration,
which has become so contentious, is rooted. Yet in reality, when you
talk to the Irish who live in New York or in Chicago or other places,
there are many undocumented Irish who live in those communities.
There are undocumented people in this country who come from over 140
countries all around the world. Indeed, no matter how big a wall we
build, no matter how tall the wall, no matter whether that wall is as
big as the Wall of China, the fact is, we have a system inside of our
country that is not working because about 40 percent of the people who
are here in an undocumented status actually came into the country
legally, and they have overstayed their visas. So we have an
immigration system within our country that simply is not working.
Finally, there are the moral and human issues that are at stake,
including the human and moral issues with the 12 million people who
live here in the shadows of our society. Our quest was to bring those
12 million people out of the shadows of darkness and pain they
currently live in, into the sunlight of our society.
We made it very clear in our statement that it was not a free ride.
We said to them in our legislation they would have to pay significant
fines, they would have to pass a background check, they would have to
learn English, they would have to live through a time--to use a
Catholic metaphor--a period of purgatory for up to 8 years before they
would be eligible to even become citizens. For most of them it would
have meant a period of up to 11 years.
So this was not the free ride that was characterized by some of the
opponents of the legislation. This was, indeed, tough, fair, and
practical legislation that we proposed. But that legislation will not
be heard on the Senate floor further for who knows how long. But at
some point in time those forces that drew us together are forces which
are not going to go away.
We have to continue to figure out a way to fix our broken borders. We
have to have the courage to stand up and ensure that fix of a broken
immigration system. What we have to do is have the courage to say we
are going to do something that is moral and just and humane with the 12
million undocumented workers who have toiled in our hotel rooms, in our
fields, who work at construction sites, who work as chicken pluckers,
as my good friend said in South Carolina, who work in those kinds of
conditions every day.
So I leave the end of this day with a sense of hopefulness, a sense
of optimism, and with a sense that these inescapable forces that impel
us forward will now not allow us to fail. We will get this job done.
As we get this job done, it is also important to reflect on the fact
that there have been many people who have gotten us to the point where
we are today. There is a lot of work that has gone on on this issue of
immigration.
As Senator Reid, and I, and others have spoken about this issue of
immigration, we have reminded people that since 9/11 there have been 36
hearings on the issue of immigration. There have been 6 days of
committee markup. There have been 59 committee amendments. There have
been now probably 25 days of this Senate debating the issue of
immigration. And during that course, there have been almost 100 Senate
floor amendments that we have voted on as we have moved forward with
immigration reform.
We will get there. But through that whole effort, there have been
some tremendous people who have been profiles in courage. Some of them
are newcomers to our Senate family. Some of them are Democrats who have
been around a long time and who have inspired the people of America and
the people who work here every day--day after day after day. Some of
them are Republican. Some of them are Democrat. I want to say a word
about some of these individuals.
Senator Kennedy, yes, some people love him; some people hate him. But
there is no person who has more of a passion and a sense of justice in
America. When you think about the contributions the Kennedy family and
Senator Kennedy have made to this Nation, they are one of those
historic and heritage families of whom we can all truly be proud. It
has been an honor for me to work with him.
Senator Lindsey Graham did not have to get involved in the issue of
immigration. He is up for reelection. It is not a popular issue. He
comes from a tough State, South Carolina. Yet he worked every day and
gave it everything he had, his whole heart and soul. He deserves a
profile in courage for what he did.
Senator Feinstein has labored so much because she cares about those
people working in the fields. She cares so much about making sure we
have a program that works for business and for agriculture. She is
concerned about the human and moral issues. She partnered up with our
colleague, Senator Larry Craig, to get 800 organizations behind the
legislation for AgJOBS. She did an incredible job in moving us forward,
along with Senator Larry Craig.
Senator Bob Menendez, we heard him speak earlier on the Senate floor.
He truly has added a tremendous dimension to this body, and his
leadership will continue to bring us to a solution that is a fair and
humane and just solution to this issue of immigration about which he
cares so much. When he talks about family reunification, for him, he
knows what that means in the context of immigration in a personal
sense. So we need to honor and respect his perspective, which I
support.
Senator Reid, without his leadership, and without his bringing
``Lazarus'' up to life again on the floor of the Senate on immigration,
we would not have gotten anywhere. So I thank our leader for having
given us the opportunity and having stood with us on some very tough
debates. He is a tough guy. He is a boxer. He knows how to fight. That
is the kind of leadership America needs.
Senator Leahy, as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who has
done such a great job in the functioning of that Judiciary Committee,
helped us move this legislation forward. I thank him for his
leadership.
Senator Kyl, the chairman of the Republican Conference Committee--get
that--the chairman of the Republican Conference Committee, was in the
trenches. He was in the trenches, sleeves rolled up, trying to make
this thing happen; Jon Kyl from Arizona deserves one of those profiles
in courage as well; Senator McCain and his leadership. He is running
for President. This is not a popular issue to take up.
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Some people are saying that perhaps this is an issue that might take
him to a lesser standing in the polls. But I will say this about
Senator McCain: He is a hero of America, and he is a hero of America
because he has the courage of his convictions to stand up for those
things he believes in. You think about those years he spent in
captivity in Vietnam and what kind of courage was honed into his
consciousness and into his humanity. He truly is a person of great
leadership.
Senator Specter, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, is a Republican who helped shepherd this legislation
forward. Day after day he worked to make this happen because he knew of
the national imperative we were dealing with. He also is one of those
people with great courage.
My colleague from Florida, Senator Martinez, worked hard for a very
long time trying to get us across the finish line. For me, he is a
brother. For me, when he tells the story of being a Peter Pan child, he
exemplifies the dream and hope of what America is. We very much look
forward to continuing our working relationship together on issues that
affect America.
I say to his colleague, the Presiding Officer, Senator Nelson from
Florida, I appreciate his great work and hanging with us, even on what
was a very tough vote at the end.
I also want to say a quick word about a couple of other people who
are freshmen, about whom some might say: What were they doing involved
in such a big issue? But then I guess they did it because they learned
and because they were doing it for all of the right reasons. Sheldon
Whitehouse, my colleague from Rhode Island, I called on him and said:
You need to be a part of this group. You need to be a part of it
because, No. 1, you are on the Judiciary Committee; and No. 2, you were
a great attorney general of Rhode Island; and No. 3, you will learn so
much in working with great names such as Kennedy and Specter, Leahy,
and others. So he joined us, and day in and day out he was there,
laboring to get us across the finish line.
Amy Klobuchar, the new Senator from Minnesota, has a way of trying to
bring people together. She has a way of trying to bring people
together. She labored mightily to get us to where we ended up today,
with at least as many votes as we were able to get.
But it is not just those who work who have the title of Senator--and
I might add Senator Trent Lott also did a Herculean job of trying to
get us across the finish line, and I thank him for that.
But there are many people behind each of these Senators. We get the
honors, we get the label of Senator, but we couldn't do it without the
wonderful floor staff we have, including the Parliamentarians and the
clerks and others who help us every day, but also the staffs of each of
our offices.
From Senator Kennedy's staff, I thank Ester Olavarria, Michael Myers,
Janice Kaguyutan, Melissa Crow, Mary Giovagnoli, and Todd Kushner; for
Senator Feinstein, Amy Pope and Jennifer Duck; for Senator Menendez,
Chris Schloesser; for Senator Reid, Serena Hoy, Marcela Urrutia, and
Ron Weich; for Senator Durbin, Joe Zogby; for Senator Leahy, Matt
Virkstis and Ellen Gallagher; for Senator Graham, Jen Olson and Matt
Rimkunas; for Senator Kyl, Elizabeth Maier and Michael Dougherty; for
Senator McCain, Becky Jensen; for Senator Specter, Michael O'Neill and
Juria Jones; for Senator Martinez, Nilda Pedrosa and Clay Deatherage.
I thank all the staff who have made this possible.
In conclusion, let me say I have great hope. I have great hope and I
am optimistic. I am optimistic we are going to be able to deal with the
great issues of our time in the 21st century. We are going to be able
to figure out a way to resolve the issues in Iraq and in the Middle
East, because the greatness of America depends upon us restoring the
greatness of America around the world. We will move forward with a
clean energy future for the 21st century, which is what we worked so
hard on and what we passed in this Chamber last week. We will work very
hard to address the issues of health care which affect so many
Americans and their families and so many American businesses. Yes, we
will continue to work on the issue of immigration. It is an issue we
must resolve, and I am optimistic.
I am optimistic because when I think of that generation I come from,
that generation of World War II, the parents of the Presiding Officer
and mine, people who lived through those very difficult times of the
Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, people who fought in World War II,
veterans such as my father who went to war, my mother who served in the
Pentagon during World War II, that generation of World War II, where
half a million Americans gave their lives in the name of preserving
civilization and freedom; if they could take on those challenges of
their time, then there is no reason why we in the Congress cannot take
on the challenges of our time and restore the greatness of America and
make sure that the legacy they left to each and every one of us is not
a legacy we forget or that we do not pass on in an even better shape to
our children. I do not want our generation to be the first generation
in American history that passes on the baton to the next generation in
worse condition than we inherited it from our parents.
I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor.
Mr. President, in my haste to thank everybody I forgot to say
something about someone who has now been through three immigration
battles with me in my office, and that is Felicia Escobar. Felicia will
be going to law school soon. For the last 3 years she has labored
mightily, putting in sometimes 100-hour work weeks to make sure we are
doing the right things on immigration, and I wanted to personally thank
her on the floor for her great efforts.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and I note the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I have had the privilege of
listening to the Presiding Officer in his role as the Senator from
Colorado give a very detailed and very comprehensive overview of a lot
of the personalities and the intrigues, as well as the substance, that
went into this whole debate on immigration. It was interesting that
when we failed to get the necessary 60 votes today to cut off debate on
a motion of cloture, all the Senators stayed on the floor and listened
to the majority leader. I thought the tone that the majority leader,
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, set was not one of bitterness; it was one
expressing a good deal of frustration in the fact that so much effort
had been made and we didn't get to the 60 votes. As a matter of fact, I
think we were some 11 or 12 votes short of the 60 votes.
He did not point fingers. He didn't say whose fault it was. He said
there will be another day, that this is one of the great issues of our
time, and that America was better off for having had the debate. Harry
Reid comported himself with great dignity and great leadership because
there will be another day. There has to be another day on the issue of
immigration, simply because what we have now on the books is a law this
Senator voted for in 1986 as a Member of the House of Representatives;
a law that has never been enforced by the U.S. Government and never has
been obeyed by the people who were supposed to obey the law. What was
estimated back in 1986--21 years ago--to be 2 million, maybe 3 million
illegal folks in this country, because the law was never obeyed, in
many cases by employers who were supposed to be the fulcrum of
enforcing the law, that they would only hire legal entrants into this
country, and on top of it was never enforced by the U.S. Government,
created a condition that so many people have blasted the very
legislation we have been considering of amnesty.
What we have now is amnesty: That 2 million or 3 million 21 years ago
would grow to 12 million illegal aliens today. That is amnesty. Amnesty
is what we have today because the law was never enforced or obeyed.
That is what we have to correct.
Now, sadly, because of the experiences we have had over the last 21
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years, not only on the question of immigration, but then from the
lessons of September 11, 2001, we realize there is another reason we
must control our borders, so desperately necessary to the welfare and
the protection of this country, the protection of the homeland. Because
of those two main reasons, we will live to see another day, and we will
pass an immigration law to bring us into order out of the chaos which
is the current condition.
I commend the Senator from Colorado as he gave a personality profile
of so many of these wonderful Senators here, and it is a Senate family.
You get to know each other on a personal basis, and you see how on
occasion a Senator will rise to an occasion. All of the people whom the
Senator from Colorado mentioned certainly merit that distinction. But
what the Senator from Colorado didn't do is he didn't talk about
himself. The Senator from Colorado has done one of the most remarkable
jobs of acclimating to the Senate within a short period of time and
becoming so effective, and especially on an issue such as immigration,
for which he has great passion and compassion.
So I wanted to add my little comments to all of those the Senator
mentioned who have so wonderfully stood tall under very difficult
circumstances. It is quite unusual when a subject will touch a nerve
that will create such passion on both sides--passion that gets so
heated that the sides won't talk to each other. We cannot make law like
that because, as the Good Book says, you have to come and reason
together. When the passion gets so hot that you cannot come and reason
together, you cannot come together and build consensus, that is when
the legislative process in a democracy breaks down.
These Senators, in the midst of all of that passion, stood tall,
comporting themselves extremely well and serving in the best tradition
of the U.S. Senate.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Nelson of Florida). Without objection, it
is so ordered.
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