María Elvira Salazar: “I think the objection just heard against the logical amendment proposed by my friend from New Mexico demonstrates the…”

“I think the objection just heard against the logical amendment proposed by my friend from New Mexico demonstrates the political gimmickry going on in the Chamber this evening. His amendment simply would have said that there would be discretion for the Department of Homeland Security Secretary to make a determination as to where it would make the most sense for these fences to go. The objection to that amendment demonstrates what is happening here, and that is that the people who are supporting this legislation believe Washington knows better than our experts in the executive branch of Government and the people who live along the borders; it demonstrates, again, the political rawness that is behind this fence amendment being proposed tonight, which I expect will pass because people want to score political points by using this in the immigration debate in our country. Again, the fence by itself is not a solution. The fact of the matter is that more than half of the people who are here illegally in the U.S. came here legally. Their visas expired and they are in the United States. So putting a fence on the border as proposed in this legislation all by itself will not resolve the comprehensive immigration issues we are facing in our country today.”