John Cornyn: “for over 3 months, I have engaged with a number of my colleagues and administration officials in an extraordinary series…”

“for over 3 months, I have engaged with a number of my colleagues and administration officials in an extraordinary series of meetings and discussions designed to reach bipartisan consensus for solutions to the many problems we face regarding our immigration system. I have done so in good faith and in keeping with my long held belief that we must have a comprehensive approach to immigration reform. I believe we should continue to try to move forward, generally, and that this problem is too important not to come up with an appropriate solution. That having been said--I am very concerned about the process that led to today. First, we have not undertaken the normal legislative pocess--bypassing the Senate Judiciary Committee--leading to a public perception of nontransparency and distrust. Second, most of the Members of the Senate and their staff did not receive even a draft of the ``final'' language until 2 a.m. on Saturday morning, just a little over 48 hours ago. Third, I am told that the bill will not go to Senate legislative counsel--a significant departure from the normal course and a departure that makes it more difficult for legislative counsel to draft amendments due to lack of familiarity with the text. Finally, I am told the CBO cost estimate for the bill will not come out until Wednesday--only 2 days before the legislation may well receive a final vote depending on leadership decisions in the coming days.”