[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19051-19052]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2007, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is recognized 
during morning-hour debate for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, I am here to discuss why past efforts to 
stop illegal immigration into our country have failed.
  Over the past several decades, immigration policy in our country has 
been somewhat confused and unfocused to the point that there is 
widespread and deepening concern that our current policies regarding 
immigration are not working. Poorly designed policies and weak 
enforcement of immigration laws have led to disturbing vulnerabilities 
in this country to our security, and the millions of illegal immigrants 
currently in our country continue to belittle the naturalization 
process.
  From a national security perspective, preventing illegal entry and 
reducing those individuals illegally present in the United States is an 
imperative. An uncontrolled immigration system encourages the 
circumvention of immigration laws and is a clear invitation to those 
who wish to take advantage of our openness to cause this Nation harm.
  Congress and the President must take credible steps to reduce illegal 
immigration. Federal, State and local law enforcement must be allowed 
to enforce existing immigration law. But because of the current lack of 
enforcement, the illegal population in the United States will continue 
to grow, the burden on local communities will increase, the stresses on 
civil society

[[Page 19052]]

will become greater, and border security will become more expensive 
while remaining just as ineffective. Furthermore, this failure to 
enforce our immigration laws is tremendously unfair to the millions who 
obeyed the law and went through the rewarding process of obtaining 
legal citizenship.
  Most individuals and families that immigrate to the United States, 
whether legally or illegally, come seeking economic opportunity. We 
respect that. However, unlike previous generations, a generous welfare, 
education and health system with generous eligibility draws a 
disproportionate rate of poor and low-skilled illegal immigrants to the 
United States. These thousands of low-skilled immigrants that pour into 
our country illegally each year drain precious resources from Federal, 
State and local governments.
  In my State as in other States, they need temporary workers. I 
understand that. A balanced and well-constructed temporary worker 
program should diminish the incentives for illegal immigration by 
providing an additional option for legal temporary labor and, in 
combination with other reforms, reduce over time the current population 
of illegal aliens. This would foster better national security and serve 
a growing economy. Such a temporary worker program would be a valuable 
component of a comprehensive immigration reform proposal. I recognize 
that.
  Nevertheless, my colleagues, enthusiasm for such a program in theory 
must be moderated by serious concerns not only about the failures of 
such programs in our past attempts and in other countries, but also 
regarding how a new program would likely be implemented and operate in 
practice. An ill-defined and poorly constructed temporary worker 
program would make the current problems of immigration policy 
unfortunately even worse.
  In the mid 1980s, Congress advocated amnesty for long-settled illegal 
immigrants and considered it reasonable to adjust the status of what 
was then a relatively small population of illegal aliens. In exchange 
for allowing aliens to stay, border security and enforcement of 
immigration laws would be greatly strengthened, in particular through 
sanctions against employers who hired these illegal immigrants.
  However, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, did not 
solve our illegal immigration problem. Indeed, the lessons of that 
policy experiment are clear. From the very start, there was widespread 
document fraud by applicants. Unsurprisingly, the number of people 
applying for amnesty far exceeded projections, and there proved to be a 
failure of political will in enforcing new laws against employers.
  Two decades later, the Senate proposed another bill specifically 
designed to allow the overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants to 
legally live and work in the United States from day one and eventually 
to become permanent residents and then citizens. This was a form of 
amnesty and that is why it failed.
  Securing a future where America's borders are no longer porous, its 
laws are respected, and illegal labor is replaced by legal workers and 
legal immigrants is an achievable objective that we can accomplish. 
More than any other nation in history, our country and its system of 
equal justice and economic freedom beckons not only the downtrodden and 
the persecuted but also those who seek opportunity and a better future 
for themselves and their families. But by allowing millions of illegal 
immigrants to remain in the United States without providing any new 
significant security guarantees at the border is unacceptable.
  We must control our borders first, then enforce the rules and 
regulations at the border with more security border guards. Only after 
that is done should we look at a policy concerning the illegal 
immigrants in this country. That is what the American people want.
  Secure our borders now, Madam Speaker.

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