Statement of Senator Joseph Lieberman

Secure Fence Act of 2006

September 21, 2006

Washington, DC

Mr. President, with so many important questions facing this Senate, and
so little time left before we adjourn before the fall elections, I'm
dismayed that we are considering this "so-called" "Secure Fence Act."

I say this as a supporter of the bipartisan comprehensive immigration
reform we passed in May.

I say this as one of many who followed the leadership of Senators Frist
and Reid, Specter and Leahy, McCain and Kennedy, when 62 Senators voted
to for true reform legislation.

And now look where we are. After a great success, the Senate is now
considering abandoning that truly comprehensive and bipartisan solution
to a festering national problem and replacing it with an incomplete,
ineffective response to our broken immigration system.

How did we come to such a low point this fall, after such promise this
spring? I'll tell you how. The opponents of reform obstructed and
delayed. They refused to enter into a conference -- even to discuss the
possibility of reconciling House and Senate legislation.

Instead we watched the opponents of reform roll out a farcical road show
of hearings designed to distort the facts, confuse the issues and roil
the waters to create a national anxiety that need not exist.

With that out of the way, these same obstructionists have now
re-introduced large portions of the punitive and ineffective House
legislation the Senate already rejected earlier this year. Without
deliberation or debate they are attempting to add their measures onto
appropriations legislation already in conference -- contradicting the
views of a majority of Senators.

One of those measures sent from the House is this legislation to build
fences across specific sections of our southern border. The cost of
these fences is conservatively estimated at \$2.2 billion, but could
easily double. And for this price America will be no more secure, it's
borders no more protected and illegal immigration still out of control.

Number range CHAPTERAs Ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee, I am more focused on protecting
Americans from harm than I am on any other issue. Effective border
security is a vital national priority -- not just to stop the flow of
illegal immigration into this country, but also to keep terrorists and
criminals from entering the US through our airports and seaports, and
across our land borders. We will continue to push for better border
security, but this is not the way to do it.

The money spent on this bill could be used in much more effective ways
to bolster our borders and strengthen our security. In fact, Congress
has already significantly expanded funding for border security -- for
Border Patrol officers, detention beds, and new equipment and
technology.

This year the Senate already provided the Department with funds to build
sections of fence where it makes a difference \-- in heavily populated
areas. But an additional few hundred miles of fence along small portions
of our vast desert border will do virtually nothing to stop illegal
immigration.

Building a few more sections of fence and saying we've solved the
problem of illegal immigration doesn't make sense.

The President said it himself in a speech days before the Senate passed
its immigration bill in May.

He said -- and I quote -- "An immigration reform bill needs to be
comprehensive, because all elements of this problem must be addressed
together, or none of them will be solved at all."

That is what the Senate did! And we are on the verge of losing this
historic opportunity to address this border challenge the American
people expect us to fix.

Let's remind ourselves of what is contained in the Senate's immigration
bill -- and let's be proud of our work.

The Senate legislation authorized extensive enhancements of border
security and immigration enforcement -- many more Border Patrol
officers, immigration agents, detention beds, new technologies, and new
legal authorities.

The Senate bill cracks down on unscrupulous employers who would hire and
exploit undocumented workers, by creating verification systems that
would leave those employers no excuse for hiring the undocumented and
punish them if they do.

But what made the Senate bill so forward looking was our bipartisan
decision that an enforcement-only bill would not solve the problem of
illegal immigration.

To control future immigration, we also created a guest worker program
that will channel future immigrants into legal avenues, where they will
be screened to make sure they pose no threat to public safety and will
not take jobs from American workers.

And for immigration reform to work we had to squarely face the fact that
there are approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants already
working in the United States. Many have lived here for years and have
children who were born in this country and are American citizens.

We wisely decided that criminalizing these 11 million people was not
going to happen. We couldn't jail that many people. We couldn't deport
that many people.

We knew that the vast majority of undocumented immigrants living in this
country came here to work hard, support their families, pay their taxes
and obey the law.

Those are the kind of people we want here.

Yes, they are here illegally and that can't be treated lightly. And we
didn't. The Senate bill does not offer amnesty or a free pass to anyone.
If you want to stay here, you have to earn it.

Under the comprehensive, bipartisan Senate bill, undocumented immigrants
who have been present in the U.S. for at least five years would be able
to apply for a work visa lasting six years. They would also pay
thousands of dollars in fines, clear background checks and must remain
gainfully employed and law-abiding.

They would go to the back of the line behind those already waiting for
their applications to be judged.

After six years of working in the U.S. on a temporary visa, an immigrant
could apply for permanent residency -- a process that takes five years
-- provided he or she paid an additional fee, proved payment of taxes
and could show knowledge of English and United States civics.

Only after a combined period of 11 years could the immigrant apply for
U.S. citizenship.

Those who have been here between two to five years would have to apply
through a stricter guest worker program, and would have to wait even
longer before they could win legal residency.

We should have rolled up our sleeves long ago to pass realistic and
compassionate immigration reform. And the Senate finally has. But the
House has shirked its responsibilities with its enforcement-only focus.

Now, instead of doing our Constitutional duty and hammering out our
differences, Congressional leadership has declared that reform is dead
for this year and instead says the best we can do is build fences in the
desert and create a mirage of security.

This is not sensible or right. But we must not give up. We must fight --
and I will continue to fight -- for true reform.

We must do the job the American people sent us here to do -- solve the
tough problems without falling into divisive, partisan posturing.

That's why I hope and expect that we will be allowed to offer true
immigration reform amendments to this bill. If we are not allowed to
offer immigration reform amendments, I will oppose cloture on this bill,
and I hope all my colleagues who support reform will do the same.

Thank you.