Cornyn Statement on Bipartisan Rejection of Flawed Immigration Bill

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn the top Republican on the Immigration Border Security and Refugees subcommittee made the following statement today regarding the bipartisan vote rejecting the flawed immigration reform bill:

“Despite today’s bipartisan vote against this flawed bill securing our borders and passing comprehensive immigration reform must remain one of our top priorities.  The problem is not going away.  In fact it will only get worse. 

“This vote makes clear that writing and debating a bill behind closed doors with only a very small group of individuals is not the way to address this critical issue.  Most Senators were not only shut out of this process but were denied any opportunity to even have their ideas and amendments considered.  This should be debated in the light of day before the American people.

“It is my strong hope however that the effort to reach a comprehensive solution will not be abandoned.  The Senate should redouble its efforts to pass a bill that secures our borders implements broader reform of our broken immigration system without amnesty and meets the needs of the economy.  The Senate should take this up again immediately after the July 4th recess. But we should do so in a way worthy of the United States Senate: with a serious dedicated review and an opportunity for all interested members to contribute to the shaping of the legislation.

“We must restore the confidence of the American people in their government’s ability to secure our borders and enforce our laws.  We must ensure we meet our labor needs with a temporary worker program that will allow our economy to continue to grow. We must start fresh and address these problems.  The American people demand and deserve this.”