Ron Johnson

I do not believe the Senate bill did that.

Coming to the United States for work is the number one incentive for illegal immigration.

People are dying. For us to walk away from this carries with it a great deal of risk for both the United States, Central America, and Mexico.

But they would have been put on a sort of probationary status that would have allowed them to work.

I think you can tell by the emphasis we are putting on border security and our immigration system, that this is a top priority of this Committee and I want to work with you and start working toward some solutions to provide greater…

I think it is clear that the United States broken immigration system is an issue that needs to be dealt with.

But, my message to you, more than anything else, is to not lose sight of the importance of U.S. involvement in Central America to deal with these underlying issues.

The message being heard is if you can just get your children or yourself across the border by any means and stay here long enough, you will enjoy the full benefits of citizenship in the United States.

Senator Carper and I are both big into root causes.

Restrict appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security so that no funds can be used to implement executive actions or policy directives that prevent enforcement officers from carrying out their responsibilities.

I will point out, on Thursday, we are going to have a hearing that is going to really lay out the population of people in this country illegally, and what they are doing.

Authorize the U.S. Border Patrol to keep illegal border crossers in custody in the immediate border region and ensure expedited removal.

What we need to do is we need to make that a legal process.

If you are going to solve a problem, you have to understand the reality of the situation, and you have to accept it.

I would check the effectiveness of those, as well, on the Federal level.

The Senate bill was--yes, I know you do not want me to say it to you--it was a matter of compromise, but it got us down the road.

We have to get a coherent, long-term approach to border frontier.

It seems shameful to me that I would be able to tell you that there are places in Arizona and Texas... where our border is not under our control.

I am all for free and fair trade and functioning ports of entry.

I refuse to write or mark-up and be involved in a border security in name only bill.

Unfortunately, as a Nation, I do not think we have really come to grips with the full reality, the full complexity of this.

Technology is the key to securing the border.

The Obama Administration's recent executive actions on immigration have been widely perceived throughout Central America as an executive amnesty.

I think you would be hard pressed not to at least consider the fact that that deferred action, that policy of this Administration, did incentivize people to come to this country illegally.

I think we also are coming to realize how incredibly complex this problem is.