WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts released the following statement after a voting against the S.744, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill.  The 1,200 page bill passed the Senate by a vote of 68-32, and will now be sent to the House. 

“Today the Senate took up a massive piece of legislation billed as a thousand page, silver bullet fix to an issue hurting our economy and threatening our security. Sound familiar?  It didn’t work with Obamacare and it’s not going to work with immigration. 

“In this bill, border security isn’t a front-end guarantee as we were initially assured. Rather it is a toothless promise, with no fence and no border agents required until 2021. In the meantime, the bill calls for millions of green cards to be issued and amnesty for future visa overstays. Altogether, this legislation would triple the number of immigrants granted lawful permanent residency.

“And as for the path to citizenship?  Who do we honestly expect to raise their hand, identify themselves as an illegal immigrant, agree to pay years of back taxes, pay an additional fine, get in line for a chance, just a chance, at getting citizenship in about a decade?

“I believe my colleagues made a good faith effort to fix the serious immigration problem facing this nation, but I think they missed the mark in their attempt to negotiate a comprehensive package that promises too much and is not a realistic solution. Let’s take this step by step. First secure our border and stop the flood of illegal immigration. Then we can take steps to deal with a fixed number of illegal residents. The 1986 comprehensive bill failed to achieve what was promised. The 2007 bill could not pass because of unrealistic promises and this legislation will fail as well, which is why I could not support it today.”

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