Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I, like my colleague from California, do not remember being on opposite sides on an issue such as this before. But she…”

“I, like my colleague from California, do not remember being on opposite sides on an issue such as this before. But she has brought up a key point that I think it is important for us to address. She says, What immigrant is going to report to deport? What she is asking is, what is the incentive of an illegal immigrant to come forward and say they are illegal and they want to get right with the process to become legal? That is a very important question that many people in our country have asked. Who is going to do that? Here is the incentive. First, the secure ID that is provided in the amendment allows exit and reentry. It is a tamperproof ID already, and it does allow the exit to finalize the Z, or Z-A status, and it allows the reentry. The secure card is issued first. It is temporary until it is finalized because the final point that is required is that you return home to apply. That is the standardization we must achieve if we are going to avoid the amnesty that would say: Our laws mean nothing.”