Lincoln Diaz-Balart: “The legislation is important, does a number of important things in the field of hiring and training government personnel…”

“The legislation is important, does a number of important things in the field of hiring and training government personnel and appropriations for improvement in technology and infrastructure, measures for access to and coordination of law enforcement and other information, implementation of an integrated entry and exit data system, machine readable tamper resistant entry and exit documents, a whole gamut of very important improvements in the area of immigration control. Some of my very good friends, and I have the highest esteem and admiration for my colleagues on the floor today, but they have been seeking to make this legislation into something that it is not with regard to 245(i). Section 245(i) only benefits people who are eligible for lawful permanent residence in the United States. If they are eligible for lawful permanent residence in the United States, then they can utilize 245(i). In other words, they do not have to leave the country to become a lawful permanent residence of the United States. That is the issue with 245(i). This is a temporary extension of that. It is a commonsense measure.”