[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8724-8726]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, picking up where I left off, I don't think 
we, Congress, need to micromanage this process. We don't need 
congressional enforcement officers, so to speak. Rather, we need to 
spell out the goals, the priorities for border and port security which 
this bill does. We need to give the Department of Homeland Security the 
tools, skills, resources, and flexibility it needs to get this job 
done, which this bill also does. Then we need to let DHS do its job 
while at the same time continuing to provide responsible and robust 
oversight, not just here from Washington but along the border itself.
  That is why now in my Committee on Homeland Security that is what my 
colleagues and I will want to do to be sure this bill is implemented 
strongly and effectively.
  Still, as strong as our border defenses have become and despite how 
much stronger this bill will make them, we cannot defend our Nation 
entirely at the border. One of our witnesses earlier this year noted 
that we often look to our borders to solve problems that originate 
elsewhere. In other words, we are so preoccupied with the symptoms we 
are missing the underlying causes which can make finding a solution all 
the more difficult. We have to address the root causes that are drawing 
people to our country illegally in order to fully secure our borders 
and ensure we are not embroiled in the same debate 20 years from now. I 
am pleased to say this bipartisan legislation addresses the root causes 
in a way that I believe is tough, is practical, and is fair.
  My friend and former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland 
Security Jane Holl Lute recently told me we have to strike the right 
balance between enforcing security policies at our borders and ports of 
entry, to keep bad actors out while facilitating and while encouraging 
commerce between the United States and our neighbors to the north and 
south, two of our biggest trading partners. This bill provides, as I 
said earlier, for 3,500 additional officers to work the our ports of 
entry--not ports along the water, actually land-based ports where a lot 
of traffic moves through, a lot of commerce moves through, and 3,500 
additional officers actually will make a big difference. We need them.
  We also need to modernize our ports so these additional officers have 
the resources and tools they need to process legitimate travelers and 
trade while focusing on bad actors.
  Here are some of the examples of what we have done to upgrade our 
ports of entry. I am not going to use all of these, but we will use a 
couple of them. This is a before. This is a shot, probably about 6 
years before. We had limited, I think, very limited percentage of 
traveler queries. We had limited technology and we had minimal signage.
  This is today. We have nearly 100 percent traveler queries on land 
borders, the expansive use of RFID-enabled documents and increased 
efficiency by 25 percent. We have new READY lanes to encourage our use 
of RFID documents as well.
  Here, it is hard--this is like signage, simple, a lot of printed 
stuff. Here we have gone electronic. We can just stop.
  When trucks are coming, when vehicles are coming, we have the ability 
to read the license plates before they ever get to the officers. We 
have the ability, if people are coming across, to use devices that read 
their passports and give us some idea who actually is coming up to the 
officer, Customs and Border Patrol officer. We use gamma rays. We are 
able to look inside trucks. We have detection, the ability to detect 
radiation on any vehicles that are coming through. It is a massive 
change. We don't just do it because we want to secure the vehicles and 
make sure what is supposed to be in them is actually in them and not 
some contraband or drugs or whatever, but we want to be able to 
expedite the movement of these vehicles.
  We want them to have a better throughput because there are huge 
economic consequences for us and for Mexico. We want to strengthen our 
borders. One of the reasons why we are making these investments is it 
is a tool to make them more secure, to keep bad people and bad stuff 
out, and do a better job of facilitating trade. It is smart business. 
It is a smart way to do business with the help of this legislation.
  I think that is all we are going to look at in terms of these ports 
of entry. I could move along. I think properly balancing commerce and 
security is critical because facilitating trade with our neighbors to 
the south and also to the north not only strengthens our own economy 
but also strengthens the economies throughout North, South, and Central 
America.
  Why do we care? We want their economies to be stronger so they don't

[[Page 8725]]

want to come up here and live with us, come here illegally and try to 
be a part of this country, although we appreciate their desire to do 
that. We want to make sure their countries are strong economically too.
  For most who live in the United States illegally, though, what draws 
them to our country and enables them to stay here without legal status, 
as we know, is jobs. We need, obviously, a system that makes it easier 
for employers to do the right thing and to verify who is eligible to 
work. Too often today that is not the case. We also need to hold 
employers who normally break the law hiring undocumented workers 
accountable for doing that.
  I believe, again, the legislation that is before us comes close to 
achieving those goals. It requires all employers to use a strong 
electronic verification system, starting with large employers down to 
small employers over time, but a strong verification system, designed 
to give employers quick assurance that the new employees are eligible 
to work, that they are considering hiring. For many workers these will 
include photo tools that let the employer verify the person applying 
for the job is indeed the person who applied for the worker eligibility 
document. The law increases fines for knowingly hiring undocumented 
workers and increases them by more than tenfold and includes a 
significant criminal penalty for those who systematically abuse our 
workplace laws. These new penalties, including jail sentences of up to 
10 years, will provide a strong deterrent to unscrupulous employers who 
seek to exploit undocumented workers for their own gain.
  We also need to convince those who want to come here for a better 
life that the way to do that is through legal rather than illegal 
immigration. While we crack down on the bad actors who try to hire 
undocumented workers, we also need to make sure that employers who are 
playing by the rules have ample access to the talent they need to keep 
our economy growing--and encourage people from other nations to come 
here legally when we do not have the talent here in this country able 
and willing to do some of the work that needs to be done. This 
legislation does help by modernizing our outdated visa system to supply 
sufficient workers when needed, particularly in critical areas such as 
high-skilled and agricultural employment. These approved legal pathways 
for workers and their families will shrink the flow of undocumented 
migrants and help our border forces to concentrate on the most serious 
threats at the border.
  Ultimately, I believe the most effective force multiplier, as much as 
I like the idea of these drones, fully resourced with the VADER systems 
on them, as much as I like the idea of the C-2006 aircraft with the 
right kind of surveillance, and as much as I like having the blimps 
with all the technology they can carry, as much as I want to have 
helicopters to move our border surveillance up and down the border and 
have all kinds of surveillance equipment, as much as I think fencing 
helps and access routes and all these investments help, I still think 
maybe the most effective force multiplier for protecting our border is 
to take away the need for people to come here illegally in the first 
place.
  As we address the root causes, we have to address another challenge 
and that is the 11 million people who are here without proper 
documentation, living in the shadows today. Ironically, 40 percent came 
in on a legal status, on a student visa, a tourist visa, a work visa. 
They overstayed their welcome and overstayed what the law allows.
  Some critics argue that the bill before us grants immediate amnesty 
to those 11 million undocumented people. I don't think that is true. 
What they get is not amnesty but, rather, a long, I think a hard path 
toward possible citizenship, one with many hurdles and no guarantees. 
It kind of reminds me of the trek a bunch of them took through Mexico 
just to get to the border, getting across the border without getting 
caught, trying to escape, in many cases, these coyotes who took 
advantage of them, robbed them, in some cases raped them, and once they 
got into this country avoiding getting detained. And a bunch got 
detained and ended up in the detention centers. That is not an easy 
path.
  I don't think the path this lays out ahead for those undocumented 
today is an easy path. Just to reach the first step, becoming what is 
called a registered provisional immigrant, individuals would have to 
clear multiple background checks, pay back taxes, pay a hefty fine. If 
they committed any kind of significant crime they are disqualified from 
pursuing legal status.
  Once an applicant has cleared the first hurdle, registered 
provisional immigrants must remain employed, pay even more taxes and 
fines, learn English, maintain a clean criminal record, and demonstrate 
they are living not below the poverty line but above the poverty line; 
they are gainfully employed. Most importantly, these people have to go 
to the back of the line, not ahead of people who are waiting to get 
ahead who have played by the rules, but behind them, at the end of the 
line--behind the folks who are here legally, who are going to get 
processed, as they should, first. It is going to take about 10 years 
before those folks who are undocumented will have a chance to even 
qualify for a green card.
  Three years after getting a green card, these immigrants would 
finally be able to apply for citizenship. We are not talking about 13 
weeks or 13 months, we are talking about 13 years. Once again, they 
have to pass extensive background checks in order to successfully move 
forward in that process.
  So to our colleagues who are suggesting this bill would immediately 
begin legalizing the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country 
right away, I would simply ask: Does that sound like an immediate 
process to you? It doesn't to me. This is not an easy path, and, 
frankly, a lot of people won't make it, just as a lot of people who 
have tried to get into this country have not made it either. I think 
the process we have laid out over those next 10, 13 years, if you will, 
is a tough, fair, and practical approach. Call it a lot of things, but 
I would not call it amnesty.
  We also need to make sure the men and women around the world know 
this Nation is making unprecedented investments to improve and 
modernize our legal immigration system in addition to making it very 
difficult for folks who try to come here illegally. We are dedicating 
significant resources to detaining and deporting those who try to go 
around the rules--spending roughly $2 billion a year on this effort. In 
fact, since President Obama took office, removals have increased from 
291,000 people in 2007, or just under 300,000 folks, to more than 
400,000 last year, when we returned a record number of people to their 
home countries.
  Our Nation must also work with our neighbors to improve the process 
and decrease the time it takes to return our detainees to those 
countries of origin. When we were in Texas recently, I learned we have 
an agreement with Guatemala where they issue electronic travel 
documents to their citizens almost as soon as we apprehend them along 
our border--mostly Texas. This process cuts down on detention times for 
Guatemalans from 30 days to roughly 7 days.
  It has a real positive effect on the Guatemalans we arrest and take 
into custody because they spend less time in detention--not a pleasant 
experience. It saves us millions of dollars because we have to hold 
them, feed them, and give them a place to stay for a shorter period of 
time. We need to take the Guatemalan model where we dramatically reduce 
the detention time and see if we cannot replicate their program with 
our other nations, especially particularly nations such as Mexico.
  Finally, I will conclude by admitting this legislation is not 
perfect. On the other hand, I have not seen a perfect piece of 
legislation. Even the Constitution we adopted in Delaware on December 
7, 1787, to become the first State wasn't perfect either. We amended it 
again and again. We amended it over 30 times.

[[Page 8726]]

  While I do believe there is certainly room for constructive criticism 
and debate about this bill, I am certain this legislation represents an 
improvement over our current system. I believe we can make it even 
stronger in the coming weeks, and I hope we will.
  I plan to offer some amendments, and my guess is the Presiding 
Officer will offer amendments as well as our colleagues. We ought to 
offer them, debate them, and vote them up or down.
  We must come to this debate with an understanding that the status quo 
is unacceptable. If we don't modernize our immigration system to allow 
employers to fill the jobs our economy needs and our citizens are 
unwilling or unable to do, we are hurting our children's future while 
at the same time making our Nation less secure.
  As a Nation founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness, we simply cannot tolerate a shadow economy of 11 
million people who are scared to live freely, who generate black 
markets to produce false identity documents, and who drive down the 
wages of U.S. citizens.
  To my colleagues who are still uneasy with legalization, I ask this: 
What is the alternative? It is not practical to find and deport 11 
million people. Most of the undocumented immigrants in this country 
have lived here more than 10 years. Many have children who are U.S. 
citizens. They have deep roots in our society and contribute 
meaningfully to our national interests.
  I think the American people would want us to be tough, but they also 
want us to be humane and realistic. I believe this legislation offers 
that path, that balance, and now is the time to take that path.
  In closing, I am reminded of something that binds all of us together. 
If we actually look above where you are sitting, there are some words 
in Latin. If we look up there, we will see the Latin phrase ``e 
pluribus unum,'' which means ``out of many, one.'' It is a phrase that 
adorns our Nation's seal. It suggests that while we all come from many 
different places, in the end we are one Nation.
  With that thought in mind, I will simply say to our colleagues and to 
those who are following this discussion tonight, we have a choice. We 
can work together to make this bill better and adopt it in a bipartisan 
manner or we can remain in gridlock and let the American people down.
  I know what I want to do. I know what the people of Delaware want us 
to do. They want us to legislate, and I want us to legislate as well. I 
want us to make our immigration system better. I want to show the 
American people that Congress can come together--Democrats, 
Republicans, and a couple of Independents--on an issue of great 
importance to our country's economy and great importance to our 
national security. We need to get this done, and I am encouraged with 
the grace of God we will.
  Mr. President, you will be glad to know that I am done, but our work 
remains to be done. I look forward to working with the Presiding 
Officer and 98 of our colleagues to get the job done for the American 
people.
  With that, I yield the floor.

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