FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 21, 2007

Isakson Votes to Begin Senate Debate on Immigration
‘We have delayed so long in dealing with the number one domestic issue in the United States’ 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today supported a procedural move to begin the Senate’s debate on comprehensive immigration reform. The vote passed the Senate by a vote of 69 to 23.

“We have delayed so long in dealing with the number one domestic issue in the United States that the American people have lost confidence in the U.S. government to actually do what the Constitution expects us to do,” Isakson said. “The people of this country are looking to us to secure our borders, enforce legal immigration and see to it there are consequences to bad behavior. We must restore credibility to our immigration system.”

Isakson said he will reserve judgment on supporting the final bill until the debate is complete, but he said that at a minimum the bill must include his border security “trigger” prohibiting implementation of a temporary, probationary work permit program until the Department of Homeland Security certifies to the President and to the Congress that the border security provisions in the immigration legislation are fully funded and operational.

Isakson also said the bill must prohibit any new pathway to U.S. citizenship and must require illegal immigrants to return home and get at the back of the line to apply for citizenship just as everyone must do now. Isakson hopes the bill’s provisions will be strengthened during the amendment process.

During negotiations in crafting the legislation, Isakson has pushed his border security trigger that includes five specific provisions that must be in place before a guest worker program can begin:

• Manpower – authorizing a total of 18,000 full-time Border Patrol Agents.
• Detention beds – authorizing detention facilities with a total of 27,500 detention beds to end the practice of “catch and release.”
• Barriers – authorize additional barriers such as fences, roads or underground sensors along the entire U.S.-Mexico border.
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles -- authorize funds to acquire and maintain a squadron of at least four unmanned aerial vehicles with high-tech sensors and satellite communication to allow coverage on the border by an unmanned vehicle 24 hours a day.
• Biometrically secure ID – establish a biometric secure identification card program so employers can instantly verify an immigrants’ status.

In May 2006, during debate in the Senate on immigration reform, Isakson introduced a similar trigger amendment that would have prohibited the implementation of any program granting legal status to those who have entered the country illegally until the Secretary of Homeland Security had certified to the President and to the Congress that the border security provisions in the immigration legislation were funded and operational. The Senate defeated the amendment on May 16, 2006, by a vote of 40 yeas to 55 nays, but Isakson has gained even more support for his border security trigger in the year since.          

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