Angie Craig: “I have never been mean to the Senator from California, nor has she to me. She obviously makes very important points.…”

“I have never been mean to the Senator from California, nor has she to me. She obviously makes very important points. None of those have been disputed and none of them have been dismissed out of hand. California is a unique situation. Texas is a unique situation. My State of Idaho has a large number of undocumenteds during the year, but it is equal to one county in the Central Valley of California. I understand that. I don't understand California agriculture as well as the Senator from California, but I spent a good deal of time down there because I work on a broad variety of issues dealing with California and water. California has a very real problem. The Senator has a right to be concerned and alarmed. Any amendments she would wish to offer that are viewed as constructive I will take a very hard look at to make sure that what we do works. Yes, we have a January 1, 2005, date. I will not get into the details of my bill. We will debate that. So the rush of the border would already have had to occur. But it hasn't. It has increased simply because there is a demand for workers in this country. If the Senator wants to help me shape that more, I am willing to listen to that and see what we can do with amendments that deal with the misdemeanor issue she is concerned about and a time certain. None of us wants to create a rush at the border.…”