[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 5746]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              IMMIGRATION

  Mr. MARTINEZ. I turn now to a subject we have been involved in all 
this week, the subject of immigration. I am very pleased that Leader 
Frist and Chairman Specter have chosen to utilize the product of the 
good work of Senator Hagel for a number of years, for over 5 years, on 
this issue of immigration, an effort which I was glad to join in over 
the last couple of weeks and which now appears to be poised to be the 
basis of a sensible and reasonable compromise. I am pleased that this 
will be the vehicle which will be on the Senate floor when we return to 
this topic sometime in the next month. I am grateful to Senator McCain 
and Senator Kennedy for their leadership on this issue, for all the 
work they have done. Others who have worked with us on this--Senators 
Brownback, Graham, Salazar, and Lieberman--have all been a huge help as 
we tried to put together a way in which we can deal better with this 
complicated and very much broken down system of immigration.
  We approach this issue by securing the borders, by dealing with a 
guest worker program, and by recognizing that the 1 million people who 
are in this country living under the radar, in the shadows, need a way 
out, need a way for us to welcome them into the mainstream of American 
life where they have now been, many of them, living for years and 
years, contributing, working, making a difference.
  It does not give them amnesty. It requires a number of steps for them 
to go through. For those who have been here 2 years or less, it does 
not provide for them a vehicle to remain. For those who have been here 
5 years or less, it requires that they return to a port of entry and 
make a legal entry into the United States before they can then follow a 
path toward normalized and regularized status.
  The provisions of this bill have the support and encouragement of a 
large majority of the Senate. I hope over the next several days the 
procedural issues which prevented this matter from being voted upon, 
where I believe--and I know Senator Hagel believes--we would have had 
substantial majority support, will have a chance to be heard. I am 
still hopeful and optimistic. It is too important to the country. It is 
an issue that deserves a response. It deserves an answer and needs a 
solution.
  I am very pleased to be working with the Presiding Officer on this 
issue. I hope in the next few days and weeks we will have an 
opportunity for full, fair debate and then a vote up or down on what is 
something of great need so we can engage with the House of 
Representatives in a conference committee and final resolution to this 
difficult issue for America.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished assistant majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, let me commend the Senator from Florida 
and the occupant of the chair for their extraordinary leadership on 
this difficult issue the Senate has been wrestling with for the last 
couple of weeks. I join the Senator from Florida and the occupant of 
the chair, the distinguished Senator from Nebraska, in hoping that this 
issue will come back before the Senate and we will be able to deal with 
it in a comprehensive manner sometime in the very near future.

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