Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy,
Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee
On Cloture On Comprehensive Immigration Reform
April 6, 2006

I began this debate by praising the bipartisanship of the Judiciary Committee for reporting a comprehensive and realistic immigration bill to the Senate.  I have said from the outset that Democratic Senators could not pass a good immigration bill on our own.  With fewer than 50 Democratic Senators, we will need the support of Republican Senators if the Senate is to make progress on this important matter today.

With all the dramatic stagecraft of the last few days and the protestations from the other side of the aisle it may seem surprising but the truth is that by invoking cloture on this bill we move to consideration of germane amendments.  If the Kyl amendment is germane and pending, it would be in line for a vote.  So much for all the bluster and false claims of Democratic obstruction we have heard.  If Republicans want to move forward on this debate, and get one step closer to a vote on tough but fair immigration reform, they should support cloture.  For the past few days, I have offered and our leadership has offered to take up a number of bipartisan amendments for debate and votes that would have easily won the support of the Senate.  It was Senator Kyl who objected to that progress. 

Late last night, the Republican Leader came to the floor to file a motion that would require the Senate to send the immigration bill back to the Committee.  He immediately acted to “fill the tree” with a series of amendments and filed an immediate cloture motion.  So before any of us even saw the amendment, the Republican Leader made sure to stop every other Senator from offering any amendment.  How ironic, after all the posturing by Republicans over the last two days about the rights of Senators to offer amendments and be heard, the majority party has returned full force to its standard practices.  That is too bad, especially on a matter this important and on which we began with such a high level of demonstrated bipartisanship.

The Majority Leader had set March 27 as the deadline for Judiciary Committee action, and we met his deadline.  I always understood that the Majority Leader had committed to turn to the Committee bill if we were able to meet his deadline.  That is what I heard the Judiciary Chairman reiterate as we concluded our markup and heard him say, again, as the Senate debate began.  The Democratic Leader noted that we had agreed to proceed based on the assurances he had received that “the foundation of the Senate’s upcoming debate on immigration policy will be the bipartisan Committee bill.” 

The Majority Leader had often spoken of allowing two full weeks for Senate debate of this important matter.  Regrettably, what the Majority Leader said and what happened are not the same.  The Senate did not complete work on the lobbying reform bill on schedule and cut into time for this debate.  When the Majority Leader decided to begin the debate with a day of discussion of the Frist bill, we lost more time.  We were left then with one week, not two.  We have lost time that could have been spent debating and adopting amendments when some Republicans withheld consent from utilizing our usual procedures over the last days.  When the false and partisan charges of obstruction came from the other side, the Democratic Leader filed a petition for cloture that I hope will bring successful action on a comprehensive, realistic and fair immigration bill. 

I regret that over the last three days some tried to make this into a partisan fight.  I fear they have succeeded.  I urge all Senators, Republicans, Democrats and the Senate’s Independent, to vote for cloture on the bipartisan Committee bill, to bring this debate to a head and a successful conclusion, in the time and on the terms set by the Majority Leader.  If we are to pass a bipartisan bill by the end of this week, we will need to join together to support cloture on the bipartisan Committee bill, proceed to work our way through the remaining amendments and pass the bill.   

This is an historic vote on whether the Senate is committed to making real immigration reform.  I urge all Senators to vote for reform by supporting this cloture motion on the bipartisan bill that balances tough enforcement with human dignity.

The Republican manager of the bill was right to take on the smear campaign against the Committee bill from opponents who falsely labeled it amnesty.  The Committee bill on which cloture is being sought is not an amnesty bill but a tough bill with a realistic way to strengthen our security and border enforcement while bringing people out of the shadows to have them earn citizenship over the course of 11 years through fines and work, and paying taxes and learning English and swearing allegiance to the United States.  As The New York Times noted in a recent editorial, painting the word “deer” on a cow and taking it into the woods does not make the cow into a deer.  

It is most ironic to hear those in the majority of the Republican Congress talk about amnesty and lack of accountability.  Their record over the last six years is a failure to require responsibility and accountability or to serve as a check or balance.  They are experts in amnesty and should know that this bill is not amnesty. 

I was glad to hear the Republican Leader begin to change his tune this weekend and to acknowledge that providing hardworking neighbors with a path to citizenship is not amnesty.  I have not had an opportunity to see, let alone review, the Republican instructions in the motion filed late last night.  I am advised that they would establish a path to citizenship for a segment of the undocumented.  I guess other Republicans will falsely label that effort as “amnesty for some.”  

Tragically, however, the opponents of tough and smart comprehensive immigration reform do not stop with smearing the bill.  They have also used ethnic slurs with respect to outstanding Members of this Senate.  I spoke yesterday to praise Senator Salazar.  His family’s is a distinguished record that should not need my defense.  I deplore the all-too-typical tactics of McCarthyism and division to which our opponents have resorted, again.  I wish someone on the other side of the aisle had shown the wisdom of Ralph Flanders and joined with me in criticism of such tactics.  Regrettably, no one did.  I, again, thank Senator Salazar, Senator Menendez, Senator Obama and Senator Martinez for their support of the Committee bill and their participation in this debate.

The Specter-Leahy-Hagel substitute amendment that mirrors the Judiciary Committee bill confronts the challenging problem of how to fix our broken immigration system head on.  It is strong on enforcement — stronger than the majority leader’s bill.  In some ways it is stronger than the bill passed by the House.  It includes provisions added by Senator Feinstein to make tunneling under our borders a federal crime and increases the number of enforcement agents.  It is tough on employer enforcement and tough on traffickers.  But it is also comprehensive and balanced.  I have called it enforcement “plus” because it confronts the problem of the millions of undocumented who live in the shadows.  It values work and respects human dignity.  It includes guest worker provisions supported by business and labor and a fair path to earned citizenship over 11 years through fines, the payment of taxes, hard work and learning English that has the support of religious and leading Hispanic organizations.  It includes the Ag Jobs bill and the DREAM Act, the Frist amendment, the Bingaman enforcement amendment and the Alexander citizenship amendment.

Wisely, we have rejected the controversial provisions that would have exposed those who provide humanitarian relief, medical care, shelter, counseling and other basic services to the undocumented to possible prosecution under felony alien smuggling provisions of the criminal law.  And we have rejected the proposal to criminalize mere presence in an undocumented status in the United States, which would trap people in a permanent underclass.  Those provisions of the bills supported by congressional Republicans have understandably sparked nationwide protests being viewed as anti-Hispanic and anti-immigrant and are inconsistent with American values.

Our work on immigration reform has accurately been called a defining moment in our history.  The Senate, in its best moments, has been able to rise to the occasion and act as the conscience of the Nation, in the best true interests of our Nation.  I hope that the Senate’s work on immigration reform will be in keeping with the best the Senate can offer the Nation.  I hope that our work will be something that would make my immigrant grandparents proud, and a product that will make our children and grandchildren proud as they look back on this debate.

Now is the time and this is the moment for the Senate to come together to do its part and to reject the calls to partisanship.  Now is the time to move forward with the Committee bill as our framework so that we can bring millions of people out of the shadows and end the permanent underclass status of so many who have contributed so much.  By voting for cloture we will take a giant step toward better protecting our security and borders and allowing the American dream to become a reality for our hardworking neighbors.  History will judge, and the time is now.

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