- Aug 18, 2009
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Got and e-mail from senator Corker. Thank you for contacting my office to share your concerns about illegal immigration. Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.
As you may know, in 2007 Congress debated the immigration issue on the floor of the Senate. Along with 53 other Senators, I voted against cloture to end debate on that immigration bill and as a result of this vote, the bill died. I believe the bill was unfair to those that follow the law and that it was not sufficient to solve the border security issue. Directly after the vote, I spoke with several architects of the bill and told them that going forward our approach needs to be a more modest bill that emphasizes border security, employer verification systems, visa exit and entrance mechanisms and other provisions that will put us in a position to actually enforce our immigration policy.
Regrettably, Congress has not done nearly enough to address the issue since that time. I am in favor of immigration reform, provided it is fair to the American people and the immigrants who have come to our country legally. Unfortunately though, we have lost credibility in Washington on this issue. I believe that before the American people will be willing to get behind an immigration policy, we need to demonstrate to them that the federal government is going to do what it says it will do, especially when it comes to securing our border. While U.S. Border Patrol has roughly doubled in size, about 700 miles of fencing have been constructed on the southern border, and illegal crossings are estimated to have decreased about 20% each of the last two years, our country has a long way to go before fully enforcing our immigration laws. I will continue to work in the Senate to provide our country's law enforcement and homeland security agencies with the resources they need to enforce the law and thereby restore the trust of the American people.
Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me.
Sincerely,
Bob Corker
United States Senatorm senator Corker
As you may know, in 2007 Congress debated the immigration issue on the floor of the Senate. Along with 53 other Senators, I voted against cloture to end debate on that immigration bill and as a result of this vote, the bill died. I believe the bill was unfair to those that follow the law and that it was not sufficient to solve the border security issue. Directly after the vote, I spoke with several architects of the bill and told them that going forward our approach needs to be a more modest bill that emphasizes border security, employer verification systems, visa exit and entrance mechanisms and other provisions that will put us in a position to actually enforce our immigration policy.
Regrettably, Congress has not done nearly enough to address the issue since that time. I am in favor of immigration reform, provided it is fair to the American people and the immigrants who have come to our country legally. Unfortunately though, we have lost credibility in Washington on this issue. I believe that before the American people will be willing to get behind an immigration policy, we need to demonstrate to them that the federal government is going to do what it says it will do, especially when it comes to securing our border. While U.S. Border Patrol has roughly doubled in size, about 700 miles of fencing have been constructed on the southern border, and illegal crossings are estimated to have decreased about 20% each of the last two years, our country has a long way to go before fully enforcing our immigration laws. I will continue to work in the Senate to provide our country's law enforcement and homeland security agencies with the resources they need to enforce the law and thereby restore the trust of the American people.
Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me.
Sincerely,
Bob Corker
United States Senatorm senator Corker
