Johnny Isakson: “the heart and soul of comprehensive immigration reform is first and foremost the foundation of a secure border. When we…”

“the heart and soul of comprehensive immigration reform is first and foremost the foundation of a secure border. When we debated in the Senate the comprehensive immigration bill that was finally passed, Senator Sessions, Senator Cornyn, Senator Kyl, myself, Senator Santorum, and others were sponsors of the amendment that called on the border security being the trigger for any program granting legal status to someone who is here illegally. That still is the case and is still the foundation on which we must build comprehensive immigration reform. The American people know that in 1986, the last time Congress reformed immigration laws, we granted amnesty and promised border security. We gave amnesty, but we did not secure the borders. That is why we had a 3-million illegal alien problem in 1986 and we have a 12- million illegal alien problem today. It is absolutely essential, too, as the Senator from Arizona said, to put our money where our mouth is. The amount of money proposed by the Senator is truly an emergency. There is no greater domestic issue in this country than the problems on our southern border with Mexico. There is no greater challenge to American business, industry, and agriculture than to have a functioning and a working and a meaningful guest worker program. None of those can be accomplished without first securing the border so people come to the United States the right way and the legal way.…”