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Capitol Comment
by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Work Must Continue on Border Security and Immigration Reform
July 6, 2007
Border security and illegal immigration are two of the most important issues facing Texas today. For several years, I have worked to help craft a bill that would secure our borders, create a temporary guest worker program and handle, without amnesty, the 12 million people who are here illegally. On Thursday, the Senate voted against a flawed immigration bill that fell far short of this goal.
This should not be the end of our efforts. We know terrorists, drug cartels and human traffickers are trying to enter our country, and we must stop them. We also know there's a need in this country for jobs that are not being filled by Americans, and we must provide a legal way for people to fill those needs.
We must not equate the people who have come here to work with terrorists and drug dealers. We need to provide a legal avenue for those who are trying to do better for themselves and their families to participate in our economy.
I am disappointed that the Senate could not come up with a better solution. Clearly, there were some good features of the defeated bill – including improved border security measures, an effort to end chain migration and a switch to green card distribution based on merit.
However, other provisions would have caused more problems in the long term, because the bill sent the message that illegal immigration will provide advantages in the future over waiting for legal entry.
The reality is, the vast majority of Texans – in both parties – welcome legal immigrants, but they also want to make sure that our borders are secure and that a dependable process exists for workers to enter our country. There is also a high level of skepticism that we must acknowledge. Most Americans do not believe the government will do what it says it will do on immigration. What is the root of that distrust?
In 1986, Congress approved a similar compromise plan that, in return for amnesty for most immigrants here illegally, promised an end to porous borders and disregard for our laws. Those promises were not honored. Repeating that failure was not an option for me.
There were other major problems with this bill, including the decision to sunset the guest-worker program after five years. This would have prevented American businesses from being able to meet our country's future labor needs, while undermining the purpose of the legislation: to create a permanent solution.
I worked to improve the bill, including introducing an amendment – unanimously passed – that would prevent undocumented workers from receiving Social Security benefits during the time they were illegally working in our country.
In addition, I introduced an amendment that would have gone a long way to removing amnesty from the bill, by requiring undocumented workers to apply for legal visa status from their home countries with a two-year window for compliance. This amendment failed by a narrow margin.
This crisis has plagued our country for at least two decades, and we must keep working toward a long-term solution. Looking to the future, I believe we should address this massive challenge one step at a time to better avoid the numerous political pitfalls.
As a first step, we should pass a bill that is focused on border security and a temporary guest-worker program. If the federal government is successful in securing our borders and creating a reliable guest-worker system, it could build public support for dealing with the illegal population in our country now.
I do believe there will be more acceptance of a responsible legalization process of people who are here illegally if the American people see progress on border security and a guest-worker program that puts the people in the front of the line who have waited to enter our country to work.
I will continue to search for positive and constructive ways to resolve this issue and contribute to a solution that protects our borders, provides for the economy and welcomes legal immigrants with clear laws to guide them through the process.
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