Political Quotes

“these agricultural workers are already here. The Senator from California spoke of 2 million illegal workers already here. But we would think from the remarks of the opponents of this amendment that somehow or another we were spoiling a very good system that gave high wages, a wonderful set of attractions, and only needed to be strengthened. We aren't, Mr. President. We have a situation that makes a violator of the law out of almost every agricultural employer in the United States of America who needs labor on a seasonal basis. What we propose to do is to say that many of these workers, whatever their conditions, are infinitely superior to the country from which they came, which is the reason they are willing to pay good money to be smuggled across our borders, several of whom die in the desert in the attempt to hide during the time that they are here, not to claim any of the rights they might otherwise have. Our proposal would make many of them legally here, with very real rights, with the ability to go home legally and to come back again legally, rather than to have to stay because of the difficulty of crossing the border.”