SENATE IMMIGRATION BILL (S. 1639) -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 29, 2007)
* Mr. DENT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my concerns over the Senate's Immigration bill.
* I am disappointed that the Senate continues to maintain a ``Z'' visa program within the text that would reward illegal behavior. Not withstanding how its proponents choose to characterize this plan, it represents de facto amnesty and is unfair to those who have patiently pursued the citizenship process legally.
* We have some 12 million illegal aliens in this country. Granting amnesty will only push those numbers up, not down, as we saw after the implementation of Simpson-Mazzoli.
* The White House and the Senate just do not seem to recognize the fatal flaw in their so-called immigration ``compromise'': If we cannot control our borders now, then how can we reasonably expect to manage future immigration programs that will inevitably increase the numbers of individuals seeking to enter this country illegally? The end results of this bargain, I fear, will be compromises to the rule of law and to the security of the homeland. And those we most certainly do not need.