Brownback Comments on Immigration Bill Passage
Brownback Comments on Immigration Bill Passage
Four Brownback amendments included for doctors, nurses, and orphans
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today commented on the Judiciary Committee passage of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, which has now been referred to the full Senate.
"I am pleased that we were able to report out a bill that makes positive strides toward a guest-worker program and strong enforcement at the border and on the employer," Brownback stated. "Committee passage is a big step, but not the final step. Workable immigration reform is one of the biggest issues facing the country today and in the future, and we struck a good balance. We need to continue to work on this bill from the floor of the Senate to ensure that we don't make the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty bill or the 1996 enforcement-only bill, which together led to an explosion of the illegal immigrant population."
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill combines border and employer enforcement provisions with a guest-worker program for future immigrants and provides undocumented immigrants currently in the United States with a path toward citizenship.
Brownback continued, "We have to be a nation of laws. We have to get to a system that is less complex and can be enforced not only at the border but across the whole nation. We must increase border security, and we must have workplace enforcement. We must also have a guest-worker program that will keep our farms working and our economy growing. We must do our part to protect the huddled masses yearning to be free' and at the same time keep the American dream attainable for those who work hard and obey the law."
Brownback introduced four amendments that passed and were included in the final committee bill. Two increase the number of visas offered for doctors and nurses who are needed in greater numbers in rural states, and two protect those seeking asylum or who are fleeing persecution.
The nursing shortage amendment removes the cap on qualified nurses for seven years and the J-1 amendment allows states to waive the two-year home residency requirement for foreign medical students and physicians who serve in "medically underserved areas." The S-2 amendment will provide persons with national security and terrorism-related intelligence admission to the United States, particularly those from North Korea and Iran. The widows and orphans amendment will allow protective status in the U.S. for women and children who are referred by aid agencies or the United Nations as particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
Brownback added, "We can show true compassion by expanding our visa programs to help those widows and orphans who are fleeing persecution or people who seek asylum from oppressive regimes. We can also help our rural states by offering more highly-skilled and highly-trained doctors and nurses visas to work and live in our rural areas."
Brownback is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chairs the subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights.
http://brownback.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=253170&&days=365&