Wednesday, August 2, 2006

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Floor Statement on Emergency Supplemental to Secure U.S. Border
Remarks as Delivered on the Senate Floor

Madam President, the heart and soul of comprehensive immigration reform is first and foremost the foundation of a secure border. When we debate in the senate the comprehensive immigration bill that was finally passed, Senator Sessions, Senator Cornyn, Senator Kyl, myself, Senator Santorum and others were sponsors of the amendment that called on the border security being the trigger for any program granting legal status to someone who is here illegally. That still is the case and still the foundation that we must build comprehensive reform on.

The American people know that in 1986 the last time congress reformed immigration laws, we granted amnesty and promised border security. We gave amnesty but we did not secure the border. That's why we had a three million illegal alien problem in 1986 and we have a 12 million illegal Alien problem today. It is absolutely essential to, as the Senator from Arizona said, put our money where our mouth is.

The amount of money proposed by the senator is truly an emergency. There's no greater domestic issue in this country than the problems on our southern border with Mexico. There's no greater challenge to American business, industry and agriculture but to have a functioning and a working and a meaningful guest worker program. None of these can be accomplished without first securing the border to people come to the United States of America the right way and the legal way.

Our country has always had a pathway to citizenship and it's known as legal immigration. Only with the enforcement of our laws and respect for those laws can we bring about a return to legal immigration into the United States of America.

I've commented often on speeches I’ve made around my state. This is a great nation we live in. You don't find anybody trying to break out of United States of America. They are trying to break in. We're a nation of hope and promise. With an absence of respect for our own security and our own border -- on our own border we've asked for and will end up getting significant trouble. Senator Cornyn has brought to the floor a perfect idea.

An emergency supplemental is critical to ensuring that border security becomes meaningful and becomes real. It is absolutely true it's a national security issue and it's absolutely true that it's a matter of the defense of our nation and it's fundamentally true that this is the foundation for whatever comprehensive reform this senate and the house will agree to. I urge my colleagues to support the Cornyn amendment, and I yield back.