Patty Murray: “as the Senate considers S.1664, the Immigration Control and Fiscal Responsibility Act, I want to take this opportunity…”

“as the Senate considers S.1664, the Immigration Control and Fiscal Responsibility Act, I want to take this opportunity to explore and comment on a number of the key issues. Immigration reform has always been a controversial issue for our immigrant based society. As our Nation continues to develop and grow, it is appropriate for the Senate to debate these issues. Therefore, I want to complement the members of the Judiciary Committee, both the majority and the minority, who have labored to bring this bill to the floor. The bill does do much to address the problems associated with illegal immigration. I support the bill's provisions to add several thousand new border patrol agents between now and the year 2001. Additionally, I support the language to add new INS investigators to enforce alien smuggling and employment laws. Illegal immigration along our Southern border is a serious and costly problem. We have a responsibility to meet the needs of our Southern States and to ease the financial burdens associated with illegal immigration. It is important to note that many of the bill's provisions dealing with illegal immigration are similar, and in some cases identical, to legislation proposed by President Clinton. Despite the ongoing problems with illegal immigration, the Clinton administration has waged an unprecedented campaign against illegal immigration. The administration has increased the number of Border Patrol agents by 40 percent since 1993.”