Political Quotes

“before I begin my remarks on immigration reform, I would like to acknowledge the diligence and leadership of my colleague from Alabama Senator Sessions, who has spent a lot of hours on this floor and in the committee before this on the issue of immigration. I commend his relentless efforts to bring to light many of the problems and questions surrounding the legislation before us, some he has been talking about in the past few minutes. As a Member of the House of Representatives in 1986, I opposed the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, which granted amnesty to nearly 3 million illegal immigrants. Supporters of that law then promised that it constituted a one-time fix to our Nation's broken immigration system. Instead, the promise itself was broken. At least four times as many illegal immigrants now reside in the United States some 27 years later. Despite this failure, the Senate now tonight is considering legislation that repeats the mistakes of Simpson-Mazzoli. The provisions are different, but I believe the results will be the same. Still, supporters of this legislation before us promise border security in return for amnesty, just as proponents of Simpson-Mazzoli did. In light of these facts, here is a more credible promise: I believe the child of Simpson-Mazzoli will become the mother of all amnesties. You can call it what you want.…”