Political Quotes

“I rise tonight to make an opening statement with regard to the bill, S. 1664, on illegal immigration. Let me begin by stating my support for this legislation. It is the product of much work in our Judiciary Committee and before that in the Immigration Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee. And, in my judgment, although there are parts of the bill that I still hope to see us modify during the deliberations this week, it is an extraordinary piece of legislation which moves in the right direction, and it is in no small measure thanks to the Senator from Wyoming that we have this fine piece of legislation before us. His work both in the context of this legislation and over the past 17 years on immigration-related matters has been exceptional. It is a reflection of a Senator who is deeply committed to accomplishing a job that is difficult, and I commend him for it. Mr. President, those who refuse to play by the rules who come here illegally become, as a result, a burden on our society, and it should not be tolerated. The illegal immigration is a betrayal of our long tradition of welcoming those who play by the rules. If the Federal Government did its job of keeping out, tracking down, and expelling illegal aliens, we would not have an immigration problem that confronts America today. By definition, illegal immigrants are lawbreakers, and based on statistics, illegal immigrants are coming here at a very high rate. It is estimated at about 300,000 per year.”