Political Quotes

“I support the tabling of the amendment. There may be some good parts in it, but most of it is bad. The billions of additional taxpayer dollars I cannot support, with all of the billions we already have in here. The biggest reason I will not support it is because it imposes new unrealistic triggers. It says to people, we want to give you the pathway to citizenship, but, guess what. We are going to keep the door closed. You can pretend you are going to get citizenship, but we are going to make it impossible as we have a fully biometric entry-exit system at all air and seaports as a trigger. Most airports will not be able to do this, certainly not the little airports many of us use to fly in and out. That is unrealistic. I appreciate the effort the Senator from Texas has put into this amendment. But I must strongly oppose it. This amendment would impose new, unrealistic triggers that must be met before the pathway to citizenship becomes a reality. To take one example, the amendment includes a fully biometric exit system at all air and seaports as a trigger before those in provisional status can earn green cards. But this presents extensive technological and infrastructure challenges that could take many years to fully address. U.S. airports were not designed to accommodate immigration exit lanes, where biometrics could be collected. This approach will not work. An attainable pathway to citizenship is a central component of this bill.…”