Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we have been working on immigration reform ever since I came to the Senate about 10 years ago. I have sponsored legislation--most notably with the former Senator Jon Kyl in 2005-- called the Comprehensive Border Security and Immigration Reform Act. The legislation I have worked on since I have been in the Senate has dealt with virtually every aspect of the issues that immigration touches on--from high-skilled visas and guest worker programs to border security to enhancement of our ports of entry. The staffing at those ports of entry is important. It makes it possible for legitimate commerce and trade to go back and forth, most notably, with Mexico which shares 1,200 miles of common border with my State of Texas. As a result of that bilateral exchange, 6 million jobs are created in the United States alone. I believe I have been involved in some of the toughest parts of the immigration debate, and as I have joked to my staff and family, I have the scars to prove it. The truth is this is a new topic in many ways to so many Members of the Senate because 43 Senators have come to this Chamber since the last time we debated this topic in 2007. While the Senate Judiciary Committee has had the opportunity to vote on this important legislation, the rest of the body has not had a chance to weigh in and offer their contributions, hopefully, with an eye toward improving the bill and making it something of which we can be proud.…”