Carper Issues Statement on Passage of Immigration Reform Legislation

WASHINGTON (May 25, 2006) – Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., today released the following statement on the Senate immigration reform bill, which passed the Senate on a vote of 62-36. Carper voted in favor of the legislation. “It’s estimated that there are already 12 million unauthorized aliens in the United States, and that number is growing by almost 10,000 per week. In order to secure our borders and deal with the millions of undocumented immigrants living in this country, we need to develop an immigration reform plan that is tough, smart and comprehensive, and see it signed into law this year. The Senate bill isn’t perfect, but it represents a good-faith attempt to pass a bipartisan immigration bill that will increase security at our borders without providing amnesty to the millions of illegal immigrants living in this country. The bill would tighten border security by hiring additional border agents, deploying the latest surveillance technology and constructing strategic barriers at our most-vulnerable points. At the same time, it would allow undocumented immigrants already in the United States to eventually earn their citizenship rights if they hold down a job, learn English, pay a fine and all back taxes, and, most importantly, obey the law. It will be tough to marry the Senate bill with immigration legislation passed by the House, but my hope is that we can work together and come up with a bipartisan solution to immigration reform this year. We shouldn’t let politics stand in the way of enacting a tough, smart and comprehensive immigration bill this year.”