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Joe Biden
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"It seems to me that what you do is work on this idea of earned citizenship. You make them all return to the border to get a tamper-proof card. You force them to have a criminal background check. You require that they have to have proof that they have a job. You require that they have to prove that they are paying social security and taxes. And then, if they do that and are willing to pay a fine, they can over the next six years earn a path to citizenship if they learn to speak English"
"We can take care of the 12 to 13 million illegals in the United States of America by having earned citizenship over the next six or seven years. We can move, which I want to do, is have employer sanctions toughened. We can move with a guest worker program. We can move in all these areas."
"There doesn't need to be a 700-mile fence, but there does need -- look, we got to start as if we -- we all love this phrase, 'Start talking truth to power.' Fourteen million illegals -- now you tell me how many buses, car loads, planes that are going to go out, round up all these people, spend hundreds of millions of billions of dollars for the whole world watching, while we send these folks back. Rather than, rather than, get a background check on all of them, take out the criminals, get them back, and provide for a means by which we allow earned citizenship over the next decade or so."
Biden supports a citizenship path and guest worker program.
"[For the 11 million illegals already here] there has to be earned access to citizenship."
I supported this bill because it was the best option available to deal with our growing immigration problem," said Senator Biden. "This was the only bill that adequately addressed all three pieces: mandating tough border security; tightening our temporary guest worker program; and finding a humane and reasonable way to deal with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living and working in the United States...the bill institutes a rational and limited guest worker program with an electronic verification system for employers. Under its provisions, an employer could only hire a guest worker if the guest worker has a tamper-proof identification card and the employer can demonstrate that no American could be hired to do the job. If employers violated these terms, they would be subject to criminal prosecution.
Voted YES on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which established an immigration guest-worker program
Voted YES to strike the Y nonimmigrant guestworker program from the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
Biden supports a citizenship path and guest worker program.
Voted YES on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which called for a 370-mile fence along the Mexican border
In commenting on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, Biden remarked: “First and foremost, this bill enhances our control over the border, allowing us to better deal with future illegal immigrants as well as drug traffickers and potential terrorists. It also provides for the construction of over 350 miles of triple fences in targeted urban border areas, and creates a virtual fence with ground sensors and digital cameras from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean."
Voted YES on the construction of a 700-mile fence along the US-Mexican border
There doesn't need to be a 700-mile fence....the reason I voted for the fence was that was the only alternative that was there, and I voted for the fence related to drugs. You can -- a fence will stop 20 kilos of cocaine coming through that fence. It will not stop someone climbing over it or around it. And so -- but this bill has a much more reasonable provision in it. It has much -- much shorter fence, it does have the Border Patrol requirement, and it is designed not just to deal with illegals; it's designed -- a serious drug trafficking problem we have.
KING: So, Senator Biden, yes or no, would you allow the [sanctuary] cities to ignore the federal law? Biden: No
Voted NO to amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to facilitate information sharing between federal and local law enforcement officials related to an individual's immigration status.
"We've got to get tougher with employers. The person you should send to jail is not the illegal. You should send the employer. If you knowingly hire an illegal alien then you should be held accountable."
Voted YES on comprehensive immigration reform which established benchmarks for workplace enforcement, including an electronic employment verification system
McCain-Kennedy Immigration Reform Bill; Bill S.1639 ; vote number 2007-235 on Jun 28, 2007
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I want you to raise your hand if you believe English should be the official language of the United States. (Senator Biden does not raise his hand)
Voted NO to amend title 4, United States Code, to declare English as the national language of the Government of the United States, and for other purposes.