The American People Don’t Want An Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants

Illegal immigration is the Number 1 domestic issue facing this country. Our schools, our emergency rooms, our local jails are overburdened by illegal immigration. Our states are trying to manage this crisis, but this is a federal problem that must have a federal solution.

The American people have spoken loud and clear. They don’t want to hear about amnesty. They want us to immediately secure our borders to improve national security and to restore credibility to our immigration system. It’s absolutely essential that we restore the confidence of the American people and send the message to those who yearn to come to this country that there’s one way to get here: the legal way.

My border-security-first trigger amendment that I offered on the Senate floor would have prohibited the implementation of any program that grants legal status to those who have entered the country illegally until the Secretary of Homeland Security has certified to the President and to the Congress that the border security provisions in the immigration bill are fully funded and operational. Unfortunately, the Senate defeated my amendment by a vote of 40 yeas to 55 nays. However, I believe if that vote were taken today my amendment would pass.