[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 154 (Friday, September 26, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9636-S9637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about an important 
issue for the people of the state of Wyoming. It is one that this body 
has attempted to address several times over the last three years, but 
never successfully: immigration reform.
  Last year I introduced a ``Ten Steps to Health Care'' plan. This plan 
set forth 10 pieces of legislation that enacted as a group or 
individually would make positive changes in America's health care 
situation. I believe this approach will work well for the topic of 
immigration reform so I created a principles document of six steps to 
address this issue. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list--we 
have tried comprehensive approaches in the past and it doesn't work. 
This is a proposal of six reasonable items, based generally on 
proposals and ideas in other pieces of legislation.
  Amnesty for illegal immigrants is not a part of this proposal. 
Amnesty rewards people for breaking the law and sends the wrong message 
to those

[[Page S9637]]

wishing to immigrate to our country legally. It puts illegal immigrants 
at the head of the line, in front of those who are following the rules 
in order to gain citizenship.
  These six steps address border enforcement, interior enforcement, 
temporary worker programs, the employer verification system, English as 
our national language, and a merit-based permanent alien program.
  The first step is what I have always said must be the top priority of 
any immigration reform proposal. Our Nation must have control of its 
borders. The enforcement of our laws is constitutionally the 
responsibility of the executive branch. Congress can ensure that we 
have adequate authorization and funding for continuing to hire and 
train border agents and they must have the proper authorization and 
funding to do their jobs. Congress already enacted the Secure Fence Act 
to increase the security along our Southern border. The enactment of 
this law, however, has hit a number of snags. Congress should increase 
oversight over the construction of the physical barriers and the 
development of the elements of the virtual fence. To ensure that 
congressional intent is clear, any future legislation must include 
specific construction and acquisition goals. We should also include 
mandates for the administration to report regularly if those goals are 
being met and if not, detailed explanations of why.
  Interior enforcement is also the responsibility of the executive 
branch and our law enforcement. Congress should use our authority to 
clarify the ability of local law enforcement to assist in the detention 
of illegal immigrants and the reimbursement of those costs from federal 
agencies. As a former mayor, I understand the burden placed on 
sherriff's departments, police departments, and highway patrols when 
their already strained budgets are impacted by the delays in receiving 
reimbursements. Congress should also close loopholes that allow so-
called sanctuary cities to avoid and ignore enforcement of Federal 
immigration laws. When these cities blatantly disregard Federal laws, 
they put their own citizens at risk by harboring those with no driver's 
licenses. These community leaders increase the burden on their 
taxpayers when social services are provided to illegal immigrants. We 
also should look at increasing the penalties for employers who 
knowingly and willingly, and especially those who repeatedly, hire 
illegal immigrants. Employers must have adequate protections, but we 
need to show that no business can pay a simple fine and continue to 
hire illegal workers.
  One of the best ways to help our businesses is by enacting some 
commonsense changes in our temporary worker system. The current system 
is serving as a deterrent for following our country's laws. The 
problems with this system are not about a policy debate in Washington, 
they are about the ability of a small business owner to operate, stay 
in business, and provide for their family. In Wyoming, I have heard 
from hospitality businesses under the H-2B program, ranchers under the 
H-2A program, and high-tech businesses under the H-1B program. American 
workers would always be the preference, but the reality is that some 
businesses and industries are not getting the workers they need from 
our domestic labor pool. Businesses must first look for domestic 
workers--that is a fair requirement and I have not heard from any 
business in my State that disagrees with that. I want to work with the 
business community on this proposal to create language that truly 
addresses their workforce needs.
  Some ideas we should consider for an updated temporary worker system 
include requiring uniform procedures at all consular offices so that 
both employers and prospective employees understand their obligations, 
requirements, and the process. We could also reduce the amount of 
paperwork required for businesses going through the temporary worker 
process. We must reexamine the congressionally mandated caps on the 
visa numbers. The reality is that the need is much greater than what 
the caps currently allow. Congress can raise the caps by reasonable 
levels and then allow for market needs and usage to permit reasonable 
fluctuation in the numbers. Above all, Congress must listen to the 
businesses in our Nation and work with them to create a realist program 
that meets security and economic needs. We cannot afford for even more 
small businesses to close or for large businesses to move overseas.
  Another area affecting business is the employer verification system 
or E-Verify. I am hopeful that before the 110th Congress adjourns for 
the year, we will address the expiring authorization. As we look to the 
future, we need to consider making this program permanent. I understand 
there are some who are concerned about the accuracy of the program. We 
need to encourage usage of the system to determine what shortfalls may 
exist and how to fix them. I am pleased that the President has directed 
that all Federal Government contractors use E-Verify. We should enact 
this requirement into law. We also need to give employers the option to 
verify the status of all employees and not just new hires. The U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Service, USCIS, should also be providing 
monthly reports to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, with 
information that merits investigation. In order for this system to 
work, information must be shared between federal agencies. Finally, I 
support USCIS creating a pilot system to provide small and rural 
businesses with the opportunity to use E-Verify.
  One of the most common comments I have heard from the people of 
Wyoming is support for English as our national language. My proposal 
contains two elements addressing our national language. First, we 
should declare English as our national language. Currently, 30 States 
have laws in place doing so. A common language for our government 
unifies our citizens. We have a great Nation made up of immigrants and 
I encourage everyone, whether a new citizen or a 10th generation 
American, to keep their family's traditions and cultures thriving in 
their homes and lives. This effort is about government documents and 
ensuring all citizens know what to expect from their government. The 
second part of this proposal eliminates an Executive order that may 
have been well intended, but has costly consequences. Executive order 
13166 was designed to help those with limited English proficiency have 
access to government documents and services, but the fact that there 
were no reasonable limitations set forth make this order effectively 
require that every document and every service be ready for access in 
every possible language.
  The final step in this plan is creating a merit-based permanent alien 
program. This concept is based on permanent alien programs of other 
industrialized nations like Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and 
Australia. The United States should have a similar program in place. 
This concept does not eliminate permanent alien programs for families 
or those with refugee status but would allow our Nation to ensure that 
a larger portion of green cards are going to those individuals who are 
contributing to our economy.
  Canada's point system allows for approximately 60 percent of 
permanent resident aliens to qualify based on their skills and their 
benefit to the Canadian economy. The remaining 40 percent of permanent 
resident grants are based on family relations or refugee status. 
Current U.S. law allows about 70 percent of our annual 1 million 
permanent resident admissions be based solely on family relations and 
only about 13 percent to be based on employment with the rest going to 
refugees and diversity visas.
  These six steps reflect ideas and concepts from a host of legislative 
proposals already introduced by my congressional colleagues. We could 
enact any one of these sensible proposals today and produce results 
tomorrow. I encourage my colleagues to listen to their constituents 
over the next several months. We need to get the message that Americans 
want our country's borders secure and our laws enforced. We need to 
hear the needs of our businesses and the financial concerns of our 
communities. The message has not gotten through that there are ways to 
improve our immigration system and make positive changes without 
amnesty. The people of America want Congress to improve our immigration 
system and we have not yet listened to them.




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