America is a nation of immigrants. That is what Ronald Reagan reminded us in his final address to the nation. President Reagan said he envisioned America as a shining city on a hill, and in his mind it was a city that teemed with people of all kinds, living in peace and harmony. Then he said, "And if this city has walls, the walls have doors, and the doors are open to those with the energy and the will and the heart to get in. That is the way I saw it, that is the way I see it." And that is the way I see it, too.

America's greatest strength remains its openness to new ideas and new people. That openness explains why the United States is powerful, influential, and growing. Nicolas Eberstadt, a demographer at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote recently that "America's demographic prospects would seem to support – or even enhance – U.S. global influence in the years ahead." The reason? Immigration. He points out that while other developed countries will, on balance, shrink by 15 percent between now and 2050, the United States will grow by 40 percent, remaining the world's third largest country behind India and China.

More than numbers, legal immigrants bring energy, vitality, and innovation. An Alexis de Tocqueville Institution study by Phil Peters showed that immigrants create or co-invent one in five U.S. patents. Twelve percent of the Inc. 500 – America's fastest-growing private companies – were started by immigrant entrepreneurs.

To harness the energy and vitality of immigrants, we need to improve our current immigration system. As the new chairman of the subcommittee, I look forward to working with my distinguished ranking member Senator Kennedy, who has many years of experience on these important issues, as well as with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle – Senators Specter, Grassley, Kyl, DeWine, Feinstein, Schumer, Durbin, and Cantwell.

As chairman, I will work with the administration and my colleagues on legislation to produce fundamental reform of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Such reform is sorely needed. I want to thank Senator Feinstein for her leadership on addressing immigration processing backlogs in last year's H-1B legislation. I think all of us realize that there is more work ahead. To address the inordinate delays at INS, I support President Bush's proposal to require INS to process immigrant and naturalization applications within 180 days and temporary visas within 30 days. I hope that once those deadlines are achieved, we can work to get the Department of Labor and INS process applications in even less time.

There is work to do in other areas as well. Some estimate that nearly half of the labor in American agriculture may not be working legally in the United States. If that is indeed the case, then something is broken. Growers, farm workers, Republicans, and Democrats have been working -- and should keep working -- towards legislation that meets the needs of farmers, farm workers, and the American economy.

In an area of particular interest to me, we must also look at the need to attract more people to rural areas that are depopulating and to help residents of rural areas find the medical personnel they need to receive proper health care.

I plan to work closely with the administration in three important foreign policy areas. First, I am heartened by the recent meeting between President Bush and Mexican President Vincente Fox aimed at establishing a more orderly migration process between the United States and Mexico.

Second, under the prior administration U.S. refugee admissions fell by 40 percent from the last year of President George Bush's administration. I will press the new administration to reverse that unfortunate trend to ensure that America is providing a safe haven for victims of persecution in line with our tradition as a generous nation.

Third, I look forward to working with the administration to implement fully the sex trafficking bill that Congress passed last year to deal with the victimization of women around the world.

At the turn-of-the-century, critics said that Italians and East Europeans would never become Americans. Today, the same arguments are made against Latinos, Asians, and other immigrants. Behind the rhetoric, the critics' arguments boil down to this: Immigrants aren't good enough to join us and America is not strong enough to absorb them. History teaches us nothing could be more wrong.

When the Pilgrims set out for America they sought a land where they could work hard, pray in peace, and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Nearly 400 years later, the same can be said of today's immigrants. America will prosper with policies that encourage legal and orderly migration and we must provide timely service to those who play by the rules and seek to join us as fellow Americans. America is best when we appeal to the hope in men's hearts, rather than the fear in men's eyes.

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