Jon Kyl: “I am not sure if the group that the chairman of the Judiciary Committee referred to is the same one I will refer to…”

“I am not sure if the group that the chairman of the Judiciary Committee referred to is the same one I will refer to here, but to illustrate the fact that the Secretary of State has unfettered authority to grant these waivers and has in fact done so in the past, actually there was a large group of refugees from Burma who were recently permitted asylum in the United States, even though they had provided, allegedly, material support to terrorism. This is an authority which can be exercised, which has been exercised. Secondly, I urge my colleagues who are in support of this underlying legislation on immigration reform, it is a controversial enough piece of legislation for the Senate to consider. Amending it in the way that the chairman has described, without the necessary careful consideration of what the ramifications would be if this language is too broad, I urge that this be done in another way and another time rather than in this bill.”