Chris Dodd: “will the manager withhold? Mr. President, I rise today to share my views on the work that the Senate has undertaken over…”

“will the manager withhold? Mr. President, I rise today to share my views on the work that the Senate has undertaken over the last several weeks on a very difficult and complex issue--comprehensive immigration reform. Before I start, I would like to acknowledge the work of many of my colleagues, who have spent years attempting to address various aspects of this issue and who have worked in good faith to get us to the place we find ourselves as we conclude debate on the legislation before us. Last month when the Senate first began consideration of this matter, the process fell apart rather suddenly because of procedural issues regarding which and how many amendments would be offered. These were legitimate concerns, since nearly 400 amendments were introduced, and since many of those amendments were intended to gut that measure. In order to get this reform right, we need to address all three components of immigration--border security and enforcement, guest worker programs and, for undocumented workers who are currently in the U.S., a path to ``earned'' citizenship. We need to also reconcile the fact that we are nation of immigrants with ongoing legitimate economic, social and national security concerns related to the undocumented individuals currently within our borders and the impact of continuing to welcome newcomers to our Nation has on those concerns. But let me be clear from the outset.…”