Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said Thursday he would bring the immigration amnesty bill to the floor "as soon as it's ready" despite it deserving "ample time for thoughtful debate and consideration," adding he felt it too important to delay action on any longer:
REID: As I've said, as soon as it's ready, I'm going to bring that immigration legislation to the floor. We're going it start on the farm bill Monday. I'm going to bring the immigration bill to the floor regardless of whether we have committed action on the farm bill. Although immigration is a complex and controversial issue that deserves ample time for thoughtful debate and consideration, it's also too important to delay action any longer. As the Senator from Nevada and a father-in-law who was born in Russia emigrated to the United States, I've witnessed firsthand our broken immigration system. I've seen the heartbreak that it's caused for families. This issue is very personal for me. It's very personal to every immigrant family striving to build a better life here in America. That's why they came here. The time has come for permanent solutions, solutions that are tough but fair, solutions that fix our broken immigration system, solutions that punish unscrupulous employers who exploit immigrants and drag down wages for every worker in America, solutions that put 11 million people out of the shadow so they can pay taxes, learn English and get right with the law, solutions that put them on a path to citizenship so they can contribute fully to their communities and to this country. I'll do everything in my power to have this bill become law, and I'm confident that the time is right. As Senator Kennedy put it, the kind of comprehensive reform that our ideals and national security demand.
Full remarks: