Grassley Statement On Immigration Reform Debate

Statement

Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley made the following comment after his amendments to the immigration reform bill were circulated to Judiciary Committee members and made available to the public. The committee is set to begin marking up the bill on Thursday. The mark up is expected to last several days. Amendments to the bill will be posted on the Judiciary Committee's website:
http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/legislation/immigration/amendments.cfm.

"I'm committed to making sure Congress doesn't make the same mistakes in 2013 that it did in 1986. We're here now because we didn't fix the problem 27 years ago. We learned that rewarding illegality only leads to more illegality. So, moving forward, any legislation that clears the Senate must respect the rule of law and safeguard the opportunities and freedoms found in America.

"As the legislative process gets underway, I've circulated a number of amendments to the bill that I believe warrant discussion. My focus is not just on improving the bill, but helping to educate members and the public about what the bill actually does. I look forward to raising questions and hearing directly from sponsors of the bill about specific provisions, and if the bill would accomplish what they say it will.

"This debate should be thoughtful and thorough. It will be arduous and it ought to be deliberate. Legislation of this magnitude should be carefully considered and the consequences thought through, and I expect a robust debate."

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