Sen. Jon Kyl in today's Arizona Republic...

Today's 'Arizona Republic' has an excellent article by

Senator Jon Kyl. Here is the article:

Reforms take first step to fixing border

Jon Kyl

My Turn

Jun. 17, 2007 12:00 AM

"Americans are frustrated because our government has failed to live up to its responsibility to control our borders and stop the flow of illegal immigration.

Since the current immigration bill was pulled off the Senate schedule a week ago, at least 50,000 new illegal immigrants have crossed over our borders.

Every day the situation continues to get worse. Something has to be done about it.

The immigration bill being considered in the Senate is far from perfect. If I were the only one writing this bill, it would be very different. But it is the first strong, bipartisan consensus for enforcing our laws and securing the border. Much of the existing law, enacted in 1986, is unenforceable - especially the requirement that employers verify eligibility for employment. To cite just one problem, employers have to rely on documents that are easily counterfeited. So it is not enough just to say "enforce the law" - existing law needs to be strengthened.

Some argue that having no bill is better than this immigration bill. That's a hard argument to make while illegal immigrants (more than 10 percent of them serious criminals) continue to pour across our borders, burdening our schools, hospitals and judicial systems, and crime and violence are rampant. Not to mention the national security threat posed by a border porous enough for terrorists to sneak across.

Ten days ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moved to end debate on the bill. Some senators complained that they still had amendments to be considered, and I supported their right to offer more amendments.

Unfortunately, rather than work with senators to find a way to complete work on the bill, the Democratic leader yanked the bill from the floor and scheduled a politically motivated "no confidence" vote on the U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Some prematurely cheered the demise of the immigration bill. But supporters of the bill asked Reid to give it a few more days so everyone can have their say and complete action on the bill by the end of the month - and he has agreed to do so. "

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