Jim Webb: “I think it is important we deal with this immigration issue in a very realistic and practical manner, with the focus…”

“I think it is important we deal with this immigration issue in a very realistic and practical manner, with the focus being the well-being of individuals who are here legally and who are citizens whose wages and salaries are in many ways being held down by these types of programs. The guest worker programs are classic examples of that. I also would like to say that with respect to the timeline in the present bill and the cutoff for full legalization being anyone who came here before December 31 of last year, or before January 1 of this year, one of the questions that has been raised on my amendment is: Well, what do we do with these people who haven't been here 4 years? Some questions have been raised saying this would create an unfairness in this amendment. But the answer to that--the obvious answer to that is: What do we do with people who came here after December 31? They are here. What are we going to do with the people who are here next year? They are going to be here. There is always going to be some leakage in our system. What we are looking for is a measure of fairness for people who have truly put down roots in their community and to allow them to assimilate and become American citizens.”