mr. speaker , i thank very much my friend from florida for yielding me this time . 
mr. speaker , my opposition to h.r. 418 is for two reasons , one that is broader in the context of the problems we face , and one is specific to asylum . 
i am just going to address the former on the issue of debating essentially an unobjectionable rule that simply allows for general debate and urge opposition on that ground alone . 
the placement of the bill on this agenda at this particular time is a manifestation of the triumph of ideology over common sense , and it is a response to spasms of anger rather than a reflection of sober analysis . 
contrary to the arguments of the republicans , including my friend , the chairman of the committee , including the majority leader of this house , the issues of immigration reform , border security , national security , and public safety are inextricably linked . 
but we hear not one word or hint of any intention on the part of the majority in this house , in contrast with both the president and the leadership in the senate , of ever dealing with the fundamental issue . 
our immigration system is broken . 
the results of that breakdown endanger american security . 
between 8 and 14 million people are in this country without legal status . 
they live in our shadows . 
they utilize false documents . 
their true identity is unknown . 
for the most part , they work and pay taxes . 
and , except for their illegal status , they observe our laws . 
they provide the overwhelming proportion of the workforce in critical industries . 
they are located throughout the country and they are subject to all kinds of exploitation , but for a variety of reasons , they have no intention of leaving this country . 
a few among them , without doubt , a few among them mean harm to americans and are plotting terrorist acts . 
the status quo is simply intolerable . 
but where the proponents of this bill are so wrong , so self-defeating , is in thinking that piecemeal fixes like this have anything to do with protecting americans against those who are plotting to harm us . 
only a comprehensive approach that deals with issues like defense , like a nonforgeable identifier , a nonforgeable social security card , effective enforcement , and coming to terms with the status of the 8 to 14 million people who are working and linked to working and have committed no other crimes , getting them out of the shadows so we can know who they are , we can fingerprint them and match them to watch lists . 
that is the only way to deal with the problem . 
look at our situation . 
the majority leader says `` this bill is a border security bill . 
it is a homeland security bill . 
immigration reform is a completely different subject. '' the chairman of our committee , the gentleman from wisconsin ( mr. sensenbrenner ) xz4003650 , says `` it is to everybody 's best interest to separate out the security questions from the immigration questions. '' but you can not . 
president bush knows that . 
he realizes that these gentlemen are wrong , that this analysis is wrong , that this piecemeal approach is not going to do the job ; and he has repeatedly called for a comprehensive reform of our immigration system because `` the current system results in diverting homeland security resources to chasing people who are here because they want to put food on their table . 
they take resources away from catching criminals and terrorists. '' that is the president . 
senator cornyn , the new chairman of the subcommittee on immigration and claims , no liberal he , realizes that the strategy of the gentleman from wisconsin is a mistake . 
he said it pretty specifically , `` i do n't believe we can deal with border security and homeland security without dealing with immigration reform. '' aside from the asylum provisions , i do not have any heartburn about these , of course , in a world where we have fixed the system so it does not have 8 to 14 million people here out of status , illegally , undocumented , and people who should not get driver 's licenses . 
but this will not solve the problem . 
there will be people who are not going to be here legally , who will have driver 's licenses after this bill passes , and there will be people with false ids after this bill passes ; and you will not have dealt with the fundamental issue . 
for that reason , more than any other , although the fundamental change of the asylum system that is going to keep people fleeing persecution from finding their historic asylum in this country , without dealing anything with terrorists who are already eligible for asylum , is another reason to oppose this bill , and i urge opposition on it . 
