Russ Feingold: “let me again strongly associate myself with the comments of the Senator from Michigan. Although it is suggested that…”

“let me again strongly associate myself with the comments of the Senator from Michigan. Although it is suggested that somehow this amendment does not violate the distinction between the illegal and the legal immigration issue, I do not know how else you can say it. It is indisputable that this amendment is not only about people who may at one time be illegal immigrants. But they are legal immigrants. It is not about people engaged in any kind of activity that is illegal. I made this point in my earlier remarks. Senator Abraham and I did offer an amendment that was approved in committee for those situations where someone has come here legally and then overstays their visa. We increased the penalties for that. That is appropriately in an illegal immigration bill. But this amendment has nothing to do with that issue at all. It has to do with which family members and which relationships and in what order people should be able to come to this country in a strictly legal context. So I am troubled by the attempt here to, on the one hand, suggest that, of course, we should separate these two issues and then come right here at the beginning of this bill and offer an amendment that clearly goes over the line, that clearly goes into legal immigration, and to somehow suggest it is just one little amendment. It is not one little amendment.”