[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12696-12697]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      FIXING AMERICA'S WELCOME MAT

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President they say history has a way of repeating 
itself. That certainly came true in June when the Senate approved a 
sweeping reform bill to revamp the nation's immigration laws. 
Unfortunately, the U.S. Senate failed to learn from the mistakes 
created by the 1986 overhaul.
  In the 1980s, about 3 million people who were living in the country 
illegally were granted legal status. Today, 27 years later, the U.S. 
estimates 11 million undocumented immigrants are living here.
  What should that tell us? It says that the 1986 law failed to stem 
the flow of illegal immigration. It sent the wrong signal by granting 
legal status to millions while ignoring the need to secure the border.
  I do not need a crystal ball to tell me what would happen on the road 
ahead if we repeat the mistakes of the past. I saw how legalizing 
before securing our borders turned out. It turned America's time-
honored welcome mat into a timeworn doormat.
  America's immigration system is broken. It is time to fix it so that 
a legal flow of immigration can help the economy and bolster areas of 
the workforce that are short of workers, from low-skilled to high-tech 
workers.
  But immigration laws should not come at the expense of American 
workers or cause them to be disadvantaged, displaced or underpaid. 
Rooting out fraud and abuse from many of our visa programs should be a 
priority.
  Unfortunately, the bill passed by the U.S. Senate would not fix what 
is broken and is chock-full of loopholes that make the legalization 
system far from ideal.
  Thankfully our system of self-government protects representation of, 
by and for the people with a bicameral Congress. Now the U.S. House of 
Representatives has a chance to get it right.
  The House is moving on a number of bills. They are having very 
thoughtful discussions on how to improve the legal system while 
adhering to the rule of law. They also know that passing one sweeping 
bill is a recipe for disaster--one that inevitably creates loopholes 
and allows special interest provisions to override good policy.
  I would like to discuss a few of their good ideas.
  First, the House Judiciary Committee approved the SAFE ACT, a bill 
that beefs up our interior enforcement efforts. It provides tools to 
State and local law enforcement agencies to help the government enforce 
immigration laws.
  It enhances the 287(g) program, which I helped author. It gives the 
States and localities the power to enact and enforce their own 
immigration laws as long as they are consistent with Federal law. The 
bill would improve our country's ability to remove criminal aliens. 
Dangerous individuals would be detained, sex offenders would be made 
inadmissible, and gang members would be both inadmissible and 
deportable.
  These are provisions that are omitted from the Senate bill. Dangerous 
criminals are ignored in the Senate bill, and it was apparent that the 
other side of the aisle did not want to have votes that would bar these 
dangerous criminals from receiving legal status.
  Securing the border is very important, but so is focusing on 
individuals who violate our laws and violate the terms of their stay in 
the U.S. If we are serious about being tough on sex offenders, domestic 
abusers, drunk drivers, and other criminals, then the SAFE Act needs to 
be passed by the Senate and sent to the President.
  Second, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that improves 
the existing E-VERIFY program. This program is a valuable tool and 
should be made mandatory for all businesses. While the Senate bill does 
make it mandatory, it does so over 6 years and provides exceptions for 
certain employers. The House bill would implement the program on a 
faster timetable, for which I have advocated.
  Third, the House Judiciary Committee approved bills that improve the 
legal system for people who want to live and work in the United States. 
The committee approved a bill that focuses on high-skilled workers that 
are needed in the country, and another bill that improves the legal 
channels for people who want to work in agriculture. If we want to 
ensure that we do not deal with millions of people here illegally in 
the future, then we have to focus on getting our legal immigration 
system in order.
  Now, I would like to talk about the border bill that was approved by 
the Committee on Homeland Security. This is a bill I am not ready to 
endorse. Let me explain why.
  The bill, known as the Border Security Results Act, is not a serious 
and comprehensive approach to border security. While it takes a good 
first step in requiring metrics to assess whether the borders are 
secured, there is nothing that ensures that results are achieved.
  The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security, within 6 
months of enactment, to develop a strategy on how to secure our 
borders. The strategy includes an assessment of threats along the 
border. It will take into consideration the coordination of departments 
and the cooperation of foreign countries. The strategy calls for an 
assessment of technology needed. But, it does not actually do anything 
to give agents the resources they need. It does nothing to require 
fencing to be built.
  After the strategy is submitted to Congress, the Secretary develops 
an implementation plan and provides that to Congress and the Government 
Accountability Office.
  But like the Senate bill, there is no repercussions if the Secretary 
does not actually submit a strategy. And, there is no verification or 
approval of the strategy by Congress. Instead, it relies on this or a 
future administration to make promises they will not keep. It relies on 
them to fulfill the law, but we have seen time and again that they 
thumb their nose at bills we send them. They not only refuse to 
implement laws they like--such as ObamaCare-- but they will refuse to 
carry this one out as well.
  The bill requires the Secretary to develop metrics to measure the 
``effectiveness'' of security at ports and between ports of entry. That 
is a good start. But, there are no consequences if the Secretary does 
not develop such metrics. The GAO would evaluate the metrics, but 
again, there is no real consequence if they are flawed metrics. The 
border still will not be secured.
  The Secretary then certifies that her department has achieved 
``operational control.'' The definition of ``operational control'' is 
weakened from current law. The bill defines it as a ``condition in 
which there is a not lower than 90 percent illegal border crossing 
effectiveness rate, informed by situational awareness, and a 
significant reduction in the movement of illicit drugs and other 
contraband through such areas is being achieved.''

[[Page 12697]]

  The GAO would attest if the certification for operational control is 
truly done. What if the Secretary never certifies this? What if the GAO 
says the Secretary's certification is not accurate? If the Department 
fails to achieve control of the border, then they have to issue a 
report to explain why. Again, it lacks any true accountability for this 
or any future administration to secure the border.
  Finally, I want to mention one part of the House border bill that is 
most concerning to me. During committee mark-up, an amendment was 
accepted that would require a plan on the exit tracking system, but 
unfortunately there is no beef to it. Implementation of a biometric 
exit system was a key point when the Senate considered immigration.
  The Congress has passed several laws that require the executive 
branch to track the entry and exit of foreign nationals. Those mandates 
have been ignored. The airline industry has resisted. Instead of 
building upon current law and finding a way to make it happen, the 
House bill provides a way out if the exit system is not deemed feasible 
by the Secretary--the same Secretary that has made no progress on the 
system.
  Border security is not only putting manpower and technology along the 
southern border. It is also about tracking people that enter this 
country. Given that 40 percent of our undocumented population consists 
of visa overstays, we must address this problem immediately.
  This problem is highlighted by a GAO report that was issued on 
Tuesday. GAO found that the Department has lost track of more than 1 
million people. We know they arrived in the United States, but we do 
not have departure records.
  By statute, the Department is required to report overstays. They 
claim they do not report the estimates because of lack of confidence 
that the data is reliable. After 17 years, the law has been ignored. 
The government is not sophisticated enough to match incoming and 
outgoing travel records, and that is a serious risk to our national 
security.
  Over the years, the GAO has highlighted the challenges that the 
Department faces in putting the entry and exit system in place. Their 
new report casts more doubt on the Department's competency.
  When the Senate passed the immigration bill in June, I was very clear 
in suggesting that the bill would have to be fixed by a conference 
committee with the House, if it ever goes to a conference. With the 
exception of the border security bill, the House has presented some 
valuable ideas.
  While I want an immigration reform bill sent to the President, I want 
it done right. We can take our time to get it right.
  Over the August recess, the American people will get their 
opportunity to inform members of Congress how they feel about the 
immigration proposals on the table.
  But I can predict what many will say. I know from previous townhall 
meetings in my State, the people do not want more laws that will go 
ignored. They want the laws we have in place to be enforced.
  We need legislation that upholds American values of hope, freedom and 
opportunity. We need immigration laws in place that welcome law-abiding 
immigrants to share their entrepreneurial spirit, build better lives 
for themselves, and help make America a better place for generations to 
come.
  But we need legislation that upholds the rule of law and ensures that 
we do not saddle future generations with the same problems we are faced 
with today.
  It is my hope that Congress, over the August break, will listen to 
the American people and work to enact true reform that achieves real 
results and makes good on the promises made in Washington.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.

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