Blumenthal Delivers Floor Speech On Immigration Bill He Co-Sponsors, Need For Comprehensive Immigration Reform

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) delivered a floor speech on the Immigration Innovation Act of 2013, a bill that he co-sponsors, and the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Video of his remarks can be found here. A transcript of his remarks is below.

“One of those concerns on which I also rise today concerns and affects American immigration policy. We are truly at a moment when Secretary Kerry and the Administration can transform this debate and national conversation, with the leadership of members of this body, including, most prominently, my colleagues Senator Schumer and Senator McCain and the other members of their bipartisan group who recently unveiled a bipartisan blueprint for comprehensive immigration reform. 

“One of the things I do as a Senator and did when I was Attorney General of our state is to visit the citizenship and immigration ceremonies where people become new citizens of our nation. It is one of the most moving and powerful of experiences that I've seen in public life. The tears in the eyes of these new citizens and their families, the celebration and joy and pride of their becoming citizens of the United States and looking forward to contributing and giving back to this country reaffirm my faith not only in this nation, in its strength and decency and generosity, but also in the men and women who want to come here because they see it as a beacon of freedom and democracy. And that is the tradition and ethos that should guide us in seeking comprehensive immigration reform. 

“We have a unique opportunity now and I will work to fulfill it, to reform our broken immigration system, as a member of the Judiciary Committee and most particularly its Immigration Subcommittee. I look forward to playing a leading role in achieving this group's working blueprint for comprehensive reform. Establishing a path to citizenship, securing our borders, making employers more accountable, assuring that the DREAMers, young people brought to this country as infants and children, can find a way to citizenship, all are goals that are fulfilled by this blueprint. And we have an obligation, an opportunity that is compelling, absolutely historic, to change the discussion and debate but also the outcome, and we should seize that opportunity, make sure this moment is fulfilled. 

“I think particularly of those DREAMers. For them, this moment and every moment is precious. They are young people who are in our schools, in our military, seeking a way to be citizens of the only country many of them know. They speak English, the only language most of them know. They have friends and a life here. It's the only life that they have. And the Administration, rightly and commendably, has provided an administrative route to temporary reprieve from the laws that would result in their deportation. But they need the certainty and security of a law that gives them a real path to citizenship, not at some point in the indefinite future but now. And the DREAM Act that Senator Durbin has fought so hard and valiantly over so many years to achieve deserves passage now. And I will continue to come to the floor with photographs of the DREAMers, as I have done week after week here, to make sure that their fate and future is on our minds. 

“Today I also want to speak about another provision of that blueprint – perhaps not literally of the blueprint itself but part of a related piece of legislation also involved in immigration issues, the Immigration Innovation Act of 2013, known as the ‘I-squared bill.’ I am proud to be a cosponsor of it, and I know firsthand from talking to employers in the state of Connecticut, all around not only our state but the country, how significant this measure can be to attracting and retaining people with the skills America needs to remain the greatest nation in the history of the world. 

“I want to thank Senators Klobuchar, Hatch, Coons, and Rubio for their leadership on this issue. The I-squared bill ensures that America's innovative companies are able to access those high-skilled workers who would go back to their countries of origin, when we need them here. And in some areas, like computer science, the demand for workers greatly exceeds the labor pool available of United States-born workers. 

“Senator Hatch described on the floor of the Senate how this decade in the American economy will create a demand for an estimated 120,000 computer science jobs requiring at least a bachelor's degree, but the United States universities will generate only an estimated 40,000 graduates in that field. So just to take that one example, just that one example, there's a gap that we need to fill to keep our companies competitive. 

“I've heard about this issue from Connecticut employers, big and small. There are jobs – they exist. We need the people who have the skills to fill them. The I-squared bill seeks to fill that gap, most importantly by hiring foreign workers. And the legislation makes sense because it makes it easier for U.S.-educated holders of advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math to obtain green cards. The bill also importantly generates new revenues through fees that visas and employment-based green cards will provide, and it directs funds to promote stem education and worker retraining at the state level; stem being science, technology, engineering and math. 

“This measure is really about American competitiveness. We ought to make a priority of stem education for young people in our country who are born here and raised in the United States. But we must be open to creating jobs for American workers in the most innovative sectors of society and making it easier for those industries to thrive by attracting people from throughout the world to the United States as a beacon of opportunity, a land of unlimited potential. 

“We are a nation of immigrants. We are great because of our diversity. We are strong because we have always attracted people who want freedom and the potential to do their best, accomplish the most, and realize the full extent of what they can achieve.

“I want to thank, again, Senators Klobuchar, Hatch, Coons, and Rubio for their leadership. As a member of the Judiciary Committee as well as the Immigration Subcommittee, I look forward to working with them on this important legislation in the months ahead. 

“Thank you, Mr. President.”