Broader Options for Americans Act -- Continued
Floor Speech
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Mrs. ERNST. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to emphasize why the Secure and Succeed Act is the right bill for the Senate to pass this week. I chose to join my colleagues, who have worked hard on this bill for months, for a few important reasons.
First, this bill provides a way forward for our DACA recipients. I have said time and again that I appreciate the contributions our DACA recipients are making in our communities. They are our friends, our neighbors, and our churchgoers. I support finding them a way forward. Our bill does this. It does it in a fair and humane way. But importantly, it also adds strong eligibility requirements to ensure the safety and security of the program and stops future illegal immigration. For instance, it does not reward the parents who came here illegally by giving them any type of lawful status and sets reasonable time limits and restrictions on who can apply.
Second, it provides immediate and significant investments in our border. We cannot allow this problem to happen again. We have a duty and an obligation to keep our borders secure and our citizens safe. Our bill recognizes that spending money on the border without giving law enforcement strong authorities is like buying a boat without an engine. We need both to keep our borders and our communities secure.
Third, our bill recognizes that you cannot view immigration in a silo--it is a bulky issue that represents many legal, economic, and security concerns. Many of these issues are deeply interconnected. Addressing DACA and addressing the border without addressing some of the other issues plaguing our system is a half solution. We must have the President's four principles to make this work.
Finally, this is the President's plan. The White House has endorsed this proposal. The President's pen is ready to sign it.
I urge my colleagues, let's pass the bill that addresses the right issues in this debate and can actually become law. Let's pass the Secure and Succeed Act.
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