Thread: Cornyn : "Working Diligently" to Pass Amnesty Bill

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June 14, 2007
Cornyn : "Working Diligently" to Pass Amnesty Bill
Via Sen. Cornyn's office:

I applaud the willingness of my colleagues to address this issue, and I regret that the Democrat Majority Leader chose to pull this legislation from the Senate floor. While I cannot support the bill as it was introduced, I was working diligently to strengthen it through the amendment process in several key areas. In the days ahead, I will continue to work on behalf of Texas employers, workers and families to pass legislation encompassing various components of this bill, including access to labor and enhanced border security...

Even though this bill has temporarily been pulled from consideration, both the Majority and Minority leadership in the Senate remain committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform this year. I will work with my colleagues to strengthen the guest worker program that gives priority to American workers first but also allows for the efficient and immediate employment of foreign nationals to fill those jobs which cannot be filled by the current labor market...

With commitment from both parties, I hope we are able to reach agreement on key amendments that will ensure that the failures of the 1986 bill are not repeated with this bill and create a workable solution which restores America’s confidence in our immigration system.

I don't know what your take on this is, but I'm pretty sure that's senator-ese for "Yeah, I heard your bitchin'. Bite me." Maybe I'm projecting.

By now, the Party knows where I stand on this. I imagine they know where you stand on this. They almost certainly know where 70%+ of the American people stand on this.

Apparently, it simply doesn't matter what you, I and 70% of the American people think anymore.

The ball is in their court right now, and the power is now in their hands--but power can be a fickle mistress. The power they have today, they got through deception about their own philosophies and principles. Now we're learning where these men and women really stand when the chips are down.

I don't know about you, but I have a long memory and a wide vindictive streak.

Full statement below the fold.


Senator John Cornyn: We must responsibly address America’s labor needs


Last week, the United States Senate missed an important opportunity to continue debate on Comprehensive Immigration Reform – an issue that directly affects the lives of all Americans and millions of immigrants. I applaud the willingness of my colleagues to address this issue, and I regret that the Democrat Majority Leader chose to pull this legislation from the Senate floor. While I cannot support the bill as it was introduced, I was working diligently to strengthen it through the amendment process in several key areas. In the days ahead, I will continue to work on behalf of Texas employers, workers and families to pass legislation encompassing various components of this bill, including access to labor and enhanced border security.

My position on improving access to labor is consistent – with an economy growing at 3% and the working age population growing at only 1/10 of that rate, .3%, I have continually supported efforts to bring LEGAL labor into the United States to address the labor market needs, especially of border state industries.

I am proud of my vote to include a temporary guest worker program. During the course of this debate, I opposed amendments introduced by my Democrat colleagues that would not only cap the number of temporary workers permitted to be admitted during a fiscal year at 200,000, but which would terminate the non-immigrant visa program after 5 years.

Unfortunately, both of these amendments were approved by a narrow majority in the Senate. In doing so, they contributed to the collapse of this overall debate and the decision by the Democrat Majority Leader to pull the bill from the Senate floor.

Even though this bill has temporarily been pulled from consideration, both the Majority and Minority leadership in the Senate remain committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform this year. I will work with my colleagues to strengthen the guest worker program that gives priority to American workers first but also allows for the efficient and immediate employment of foreign nationals to fill those jobs which cannot be filled by the current labor market.

I have also advocated restoring confidence in the identity and employment authorization documentation submitted by workers. Employers need to know exactly who they are hiring and should not be constantly concerned about potential violations of immigration laws that could lead to worksite enforcement actions – actions that not only disrupt business but also cause significant economic loss.

It is the government’s responsibility to restore confidence in the employer verification process. The current system is a guessing game – employers have no way of knowing whether the identity and employment authorization documents presented to them are legitimate or fraudulent. This is why I support a tamper- proof, counterfeit resistant worker card with biometric features that will allow employers to hire new workers with confidence that their workforce is a legal one. Only after increasing access to legal labor and creating an error- free documentation process, will we be able to claim a secure and reliable workforce.

While I support immigration reform, and have a record of leadership on this critical issue, there are a few significant components of this legislation that need to be fixed before I can endorse the bill currently being considered by the Senate.

One key component missing from the bill is strong border security and effective interior enforcement. We need to know who is in our country and their intentions. I introduced an amendment to this bill which would have banned felons, terrorists and convicted gang members from being awarded amnesty or citizenship. Remarkably, my colleagues opposed this amendment. How can anyone support legislation which offers legal status and a path to U.S. citizenship to known criminals? And, why do we want to include felons in the same category as the hard working individuals willing to risk their lives for a better way of life? By providing a path for legitimate workers to cross legally, our border patrol officers will have fewer individuals seeking to cross illegally to apprehend and will more efficiently be able to provide security for our friends who live and work on the Texas border.

In addition, the implementing provisions of this bill are a recipe for failure. The central premise of this legislation for identifying and registering the current undocumented population is through the proposed “Z visaâ€

workers and families

I head this a lot on the Spanish 800 number. Call Senator Corn-Yen and tell him to "protect families and workers".

Dixie

I believe that he should of just said what was really on his mind:

More like protect employers who want cheap labor, protect Illegal families, protect Illegal workers at least it would have been the truth!

I have written emails, faxed, called and will continue to do so, as this a$$hat is up for reelection in "08".

Can't help but feel like we are no longer living in a "Represenative Republic", starting to feel more like a dictatorship form of government! The president and all the senate know doggone well that a majority of America is against this bill and still they are determined to pass it!
Seems to me like they are hell bent on doing whatever they want without regards of the people! God Forbid but starting to sound more like Communism to me!

looks like hes gonna be needing a job soon. i hear la raza is hiring.