FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 25, 2006

Isakson Voices Dismay at Senate’s Refusal to Put Border Security First
Votes ‘No’ On Bill Granting Legal Status to Illegal Immigrants

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today expressed disappointment at the Senate’s passage of a bill that grants legal status to illegal immigrants without first committing to securing the U.S. borders. Isakson voted against final passage of the immigration reform legislation, which passed the Senate by a vote of 62 to 36.

“The people of this country are looking to us to secure our borders to improve national security and to restore credibility to our immigration system,” Isakson said. “With the passage of this bill today, t he Senate is telling the American people that we should continue to give a wink and a nod to those who would cross our borders illegally. That is a terrible message to send and that is why I voted ‘No.’”

Last week, Isakson introduced an amendment to the bill that would have prohibited the implementation of any guest worker program that grants legal status to those who have entered the country illegally until the Secretary of Homeland Security has certified to the President and to the Congress that the border security provisions in the immigration legislation are fully funded and operational. The Senate defeated Isakson’s amendment by a vote of 40 yeas to 55 nays.

“Even though the Senate rejected my amendment, it is my sincere hope that my approach of securing the border first could serve as the foundation for a compromise when the House and Senate try to reconcile the differences between their two bills,” Isakson said. “In the end, we must secure the border first before we do anything else.”

Isakson said it is critical to secure the borders before implementing a new guest worker program because otherwise the United States will face a repeat of 1986, when amnesty was granted to 3 million illegal immigrants without enhancing border security first. The result, Isakson said, was that millions more immigrants have flooded into the United States illegally and now are straining our schools, our hospitals and our local jails.

On Feb. 22, Isakson led a Congressional delegation to the U.S.-Mexico border, which included stops in San Diego, Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and Manzanillo, Mexico. In Arizona, Isakson viewed the one and only unmanned aerial vehicle operated by Customs and Border Protection. This one vehicle is flown along the border and can detect individuals trying to come across the border illegally. The border protection agents then use the signals from this detection system to catch these illegal immigrants and to stop them from entering the U.S. On the border at San Diego, Isakson was present when scanners detected a pickup truck with a false bed concealing 13 illegals.

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