Press Release

Statement by U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez on Bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform Proposal

WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez issued the following statement on today’s announcement of the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform proposal.

“America is a nation of immigrants. Our history, our prosperity and our values have been shaped by immigrants. But our current immigration system does not work. President Bush has long called for an overhaul of the system to protect our borders and promote our prosperity.

“This year presents a historic opportunity. Under President Bush’s direction, Secretary Chertoff and I have worked many hours alongside a bipartisan group of Senators and their staffs to craft a comprehensive immigration policy that will fix our broken immigration system.

“The consensus package the Senate takes up contains elements we believe are critical.

“First, it secures the border with real triggers before subsequent parts of the law take effect. Second, it has an enforceable temporary worker program that acknowledges there are jobs Americans are not doing and that we cannot grow economically without a growing workforce. Third, it offers a realistic and humane way to bring millions of undocumented workers out of the shadows and into the mainstream without amnesty, ensuring they wait in line behind those who followed the law. It also ends chain migration and implements a merit system to bring in workers with the skills our economy needs.

“The consensus, the center of this debate, is where the solutions will be found. We must compromise to get a final product that everyone can support. But, the point is that this is an historic bipartisan compromise agreement upon which further progress will be made.

“I look forward to the Senate debate and Senate action, and then moving this legislation to the House. Time is of the essence. This is the time to fix the system. We owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our children.”