SENATOR JOHN ENSIGN released the following statement after voting against the immigration bill today [June 28, 2007]:

"The current immigration system is broken, but this bill has too many flaws and our efforts to improve it are being severely limited. There were several amendments that could have significantly improved this bill, but because they will not be considered I voted against moving this legislation closer to final passage.

"My Social Security amendment would have prevented illegal immigrants from collecting benefits for fraudulent work, most commonly through identity theft, but it was not considered. We need to strengthen our interior enforcement by putting in place an exit tracking system so we know which workers are here and which have left, but this amendment was not considered. Tamper-proof identification cards need to be part of any immigration reform because it will hold employers accountable for the workers they hire.

"I have fought from the beginning to improve this bill because the status quo is unacceptable, and we need an immigration reform that is good for America. As it stands today this bill encourages identity theft, lacks significant interior enforcement and fails to implement an effective employee verification program."