Johnny Isakson: “Facts are stubborn figures. Senator Kennedy said we should learn from history. He served in 1986, when we passed a bill…”

“Facts are stubborn figures. Senator Kennedy said we should learn from history. He served in 1986, when we passed a bill that promised border security that did not deliver and granted amnesty that did not deliver, and we ended up quadrupling the number of illegal aliens in the United States. Facts are also stubborn because every word he said about the Isakson amendment is inaccurate. He did not discuss a single word of the 614 pages, except to say before you grant legal status to people here illegally, we must have border security so we do not repeat the tragedy of 1986. In Deep South Georgia, we have an old saying: If you want to get the mud out of the spring, you have to get the hog out of the water. The hog in the water in this debate is those who have been trying to obfuscate everything we are trying to say. Simply, we want the same thing. We want comprehensive reform. That begins with what the President said last night: Border security first. The President said last night that we can do it by 2008. Ask Congress for the money. This is an authorization. I want a commitment. If we do not commit to the people of the United States of America-- our school systems that are overcrowded, our health care and emergency rooms that are challenged, our civil justice system is challenged--and see to it that we get a border that is secure so we can manage our legal immigration in the future, history will be the teacher that we had in 1986. Facts are stubborn things.…”