For centuries, immigrants have come to America seeking the
promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Some came
fleeing religious persecution. Others came for the possibility of a
better life. But all were inspired by the freedoms that exist in
the United States because of the rule of law.
Throughout our history, immigrants have contributed to American
society and helped build the American dream. But today we face an
immigration crisis. Lax enforcement of our immigration laws
threatens the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness that has made America what it is today. In order to
protect the American dream, we must enforce our immigration
laws.
According to a report by the Government Accountability Office,
only 44 percent of the U.S.-Mexico border is under the “operational
control” of the U.S. Border Patrol. Forty-four percent is a failing
grade. Holes in the security of our borders threaten American
lives. In Mexico, more than 35,000 people have been killed in the
past five years. Without strong border security, this violence
threatens to spill over into border towns, from Brownsville to San
Diego. The first promise of the American dream is “life.” In order
to protect that promise, we must secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
We must also do more to protect Americans from criminal illegal
immigrants. Although the Obama administration has increased the
deportation of criminal immigrants, two Supreme Court rulings
created a safe haven for dangerous criminal immigrants who cannot
be removed. Because these rulings prohibit criminal immigrants from
being detained longer than six months if they cannot be deported,
federal officials have been forced to release thousands of criminal
immigrants into our communities. Tragically, many have gone on to
commit more crimes, including murder. That’s why I introduced the
Keep Our Communities Safe Act to prevent the release of dangerous
criminal immigrants back into our neighborhoods.
The promise of “liberty” for those who come to America is also
threatened by illegal immigration. People from around the world
come to the U.S. seeking freedom from oppression. These individuals
come the right way — they follow our laws and wait in line for
America’s freedoms and opportunities. Citizenship is the highest
honor our nation can bestow. We should not cheapen it by giving it
away to individuals who broke our laws to come here in the first
place.
But that’s precisely what amnesty does: it undermines the rule
of law. We have succeeded as a nation in preserving our liberties
because we adhere to the rule of law. We punish law-breakers in
order to protect the freedoms of law-abiders. Amnesty does the
exact opposite — it rewards criminal behavior and encourages more
illegal immigration.
For many, the pursuit of happiness is also the pursuit of
prosperity. Part of the American dream is the ability to provide
for your family, have a job that pays the bills, and puts a roof
over your head. The last few years of economic uncertainty have
made this dream harder to attain for millions of U.S. citizens and
legal immigrants. Twenty-four million Americans are unemployed or
underemployed. Meanwhile, there are 7 million illegal workers with
jobs in the U.S. We could open up millions of jobs for citizens and
legal immigrants if we simply enforced worksite immigration
laws.
E-Verify is a program that helps preserve scarce jobs for U.S.
citizens and legal immigrants. It allows employers to check whether
prospective employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S.
The program is free, quick, and easy to use — persons eligible to
work are immediately confirmed 99.5 percent of the time. More than
270,000 employers across the U.S. voluntarily use E-Verify, and an
average of 1,300 new businesses sign up each week. I’ve introduced
the Legal Workforce Act to require all U.S. employers touse
E-Verify. This bill is one of the most significant steps we can
take to preserve the pursuit of happiness for millions of U.S.
citizens and legal immigrants while curbing incentives for future
illegal immigrants.
The U.S. has been and will continue to be a nation of
immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. And we must enforce
our laws to protect and preserve the rights and freedoms that make
America so great.
