The Senate’s comprehensive immigration bill gives everyone something to disagree with, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who would like to see more emphasis on E-Verify, border security and other measures in the bill. The Senate agreed to move forward on the immigration bill by a vote of 84-15.

Enzi opposes amnesty and in addition to border enforcement and security, wants guest worker programs that work, “from sheep herding to high tech engineers.”

“Doing any one of these things would improve our current situation,” Enzi said. “Effective E-Verify could ensure that businesses are hiring legal workers. If people who are here illegally can’t get a job, they likely won’t stay, and word of mouth will help discourage others from breaking the law in the future.”

Another area that Enzi believes could be improved includes keeping better track of those who come into the country legally, but don’t leave. He said connecting our entry programs to the exit programs is an essential start.

Enzi said we should welcome those who have come to our country “for the right reasons and in the right way, but people need to earn their legal status and should not be rewarded for breaking the law.”

While he appreciates the bipartisan efforts of those who have worked on the bill, Enzi did not support the procedural motions today to begin considering the bill.

“The immigration reform bill in the Senate is over 1,000 pages. It’s easy for people to find something they don’t like or, similar to the health care bill, miss details that turn out to be important,” Enzi said. “Sometimes when you try to do it all, you get nothing. Most of us do want immigration reform, but we should work on the parts that we can get done and leave the rest for another time.”