Cornyn: Immigration Reform Must Address Public Safety
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship subcommittee, made the following opening statement during the Judiciary Committee’s hearing, titled, Examining the Need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform II:
“Thank you, Chairman Specter, for holding this hearing today on a topic of great importance to the country.
“Over the past year, we have seen how illegal immigration is affecting communities that, until recently, viewed the problem as a Texas issue, or an Arizona issue, or a California issue.
“Last week, this Committee heard testimony from Mr. Louis Barletta, the Mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania: a city of 22,000 people. Though the city is thousands of miles from the southern border, its Mayor testified that Hazleton’s municipal services are “buckling under the strain” of illegal immigration.
“Some of the burdens of which Mayor Barletta spoke are, of course, nothing new for Texas, whose local governments and hospital systems have struggled financially for many, many years because of illegal immigration.
“But I am wary of the effort by some to portray all illegal immigrants as hardened criminals, gang members, or terrorists. That is simply not true.
“The overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants work hard, support their families here and at home, and contribute to our society. When there is a shortage of U.S. workers, our immigration laws should allow those workers to enter our country through legal channels and work temporarily in the United States.
“But we also cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that, amidst the millions of tourists, workers and immigrants who enter our country each day, some will be criminals.
“I’m talking here about people like Angel Resendiz – otherwise known as the “railway killer” – who authorities have been able to link to 15 victims – at least 8 of them in the U.S. Resendiz was executed just a few weeks ago, after a killing spree that spanned 23 years.
“I have documents showing that this murderer was arrested by authorities and deported, back across our southern border, no less than 20 times, and from these records, one can infer that he freely crossed the border many more times, as he had a common law wife in Mexico’s Durango state.
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“Resendiz was arrested in multiple locations – from as far north as Sterling Heights, Michigan, where he was found in a boxcar at a Ford Motor Company plant – southeast to Miami, where he was convicted on burglary, auto theft and aggravated assault charges, to San Bernardino, California, for trespassing and possessing a firearm, to El Reno, “Oklahoma, for presenting false documentation and falsely reporting himself as a U.S. citizen.
“We simply cannot allow a system to continue which affords criminals like Angel Resendiz the opportunity to cross our borders, with impunity, and victimize innocent Americans.
“But right now, our immigration system does a poor job of distinguishing between those who are coming to work and those who are coming to commit crimes.
“It is for that reason that I favor a comprehensive immigration bill. I believe that addressing the 12 million illegal aliens already here in the U.S. will enhance public safety in several important ways.
“Investigators, prosecutors and judges could focus on dangerous illegal aliens and repeat offenders. The government could dedicate additional detention space for criminal illegal aliens – 80,000 of whom have already been ordered deported but never left the country.
“And by issuing secure identification to all aliens, state and local police will be in a better position to determine whether routine stops are more than just routine. There are over 700,000 members of state and local law enforcement around the country, and these officials are the ones most likely to encounter a criminal alien or suspected terrorist – most often in the context of a stop related to a minor offense.
“While police officers have access to centralized terrorist screening centers, that access is worth little if the police officer is unable to determine the individual’s real identity. By requiring all immigrants to carry secure identification, and eliminating the market for fraudulent and forged documents, we will ensure both the safety of our law enforcement personnel as well as the safety of the American people.
“Thank you for the opportunity to comment, and I look forward to the testimony of our distinguished witnesses.”
Sen. Cornyn will serve on the conference committee that will reconcile the differences between the House and Senate immigration bills. Sen. Cornyn has played a key role in the Senate immigration reform debate and continues to work to bolster border security and implement comprehensive immigration reform.
Cornyn and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) authored a separate bill titled: The Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act (S.1438). The key components of their legislation include enhanced border security and interior enforcement, employer accountability, and reform to bring the current illegal population into compliance with the law.
