Castle Statement on Immigration in Response to President Bush's Speech

Castle Statement on Immigration in Response to President Bush's Speech

Delaware Congressman Mike Castle released the following statement in response to President Bush's speech tonight on immigration and border security in the United States.

"Improving our nation's immigration system is a very complex problem that clearly has no simple solution. Above all else, it is crucial that we focus on improving security at land and water borders. As a former Member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, I also feel strongly that biometric documents and tracking systems, like US-VISIT, will be essential to any successful border security strategy. Beyond that, I believe most Americans simply want to see a realistic, workable response to the immigration dilemma. W hile a guest worker program appears to be a viable strategy, it is essential that highest priority for citizenship be given first to those immigrants who follow the rules and are here legally," Castle said.

Castle worked hard to improve the "Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005", through his two amendments which passed as part of the legislation in the House in December 2005. Castle's amendments aim to improve the national entry and exit biometric tracking system (US-VISIT) and requires the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress on the number of illegal aliens that originate from countries known to support terrorism.

http://www.house.gov/castle/pr_06_immspeech.html