Sessions to fight over immigration
Published 2:59 am Monday, June 26, 2006
By Staff
Late last month, the Senate, by a vote of 62-36, passed what proponents called a “comprehensive” immigration bill. I was among the group of 36 senators - 32 Republicans, 4 Democrats - to oppose the measure.
The American people were counting on us to secure our borders and restore the rule of law to our immigration system. Unfortunately, the Senate let the American people down by passing a deeply flawed bill that would give the illegal alien population every benefit this nation can bestow, and increase future legal immigration levels by nearly three times the current level. The bill also fails to secure the border or establish effective border enforcement. Additionally, between 80 percent and 85 percent of the large influx would be admitted without having to meet any educational, skill or language requirements.
The fatal flaws of this bill are numerous. Here are a few of the most egregious examples: