NOTICIAS

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement today welcoming the immigration amendments being filed today by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

“Ending today’s de facto amnesty and fixing our broken immigration system is essential for America’s sovereignty, security, job creation, economic growth and preserving immigration as a source of our nation’s strength. Leaving the status quo in place would be disastrous.

“Since I first engaged on this issue I have repeatedly said that the bill we hoped to produce would serve as a starting point. Since the immigration bill was introduced last month, we have heard from thousands of voices across America. Some, quite frankly, will not support any bill, no matter what changes we make. But most of the suggestions we have heard raise legitimate points and suggestions on how to improve the bill. The good news is that it is now clear that the overwhelming majority of Americans across the entire political spectrum are prepared to address the fact that we have millions of human beings living here illegally, so long as we take measures that ensure that this never happens again. In particular, most conservatives are ready to support immigration reform, so long as it takes serious steps to prevent another wave of illegal immigration in the future.

“By mandating E-Verify and an entry-exit tracking system, and by investing over five billion additional dollars on border security, the current bill takes significant steps to prevent another wave of illegal immigration. But the federal government’s failure to enforce the law in the past has left people with little confidence in its ability to do so in the future. That is why in order for this bill to become law, it will have to be improved to bolster border security and enforcement even further and to limit the federal government’s discretionary power in applying the law. In addition, additional measures will be required to address potential costs to taxpayers.

“Throughout this next phase of the immigration debate, we want to continue hearing from the public about how to get immigration reform right. For members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, this is their first chance to make a good faith effort to improve the bill. I look forward to working with them throughout this process to ultimately fix our broken immigration system and ensure we never repeat today’s broken mess again.  What is not an option is doing nothing. Anyone who opposes this bill but fails to offer a real and specific alternative is in favor of the status quo. And the status quo is de facto amnesty.”

Note: Throughout today, amendments filed to S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, will be posted online as filed. To read these amendments, click here.