Senior Humanities Ashley Carruth

Serena Bennett
11/30/16
Model Senate Judiciary Committee Speech
Hello, my name is Senator Orrin Hatch, representative of the judiciary committee of
Utah. As a co-author of bill number 3-2016, the Visa Reform and Enforcement Bill, I believe
strongly in its purpose and ability to reform immigration through changing the visa process and
improving our labor force as a country. Although opponents of this bill would say that the
enforcement and regulations of visas are unrealistic, the Visa Reform and Enforcement Bill is the
most comprehensive way to better ensure that immigrants do not overstay their visas while at the
same time enabling more short-term work that will decrease illegal immigration from the
southern border.
By creating short term visas that are easier to obtain as done in Section 1, the process to
obtain a visa will be easy for immigrants to come and go for short-term, unskilled labor. This will
not lower the eligibility requirements or make it easier for criminals to enter the United States; it
will remain thorough but become a quicker process that is more attainable to the right people.
This will help boost our economy by filling low-skilled jobs that most Americans arent willing
to take. This reform will also serve as a significant solution to the illegal immigration that occurs
primarily to get work in the United States. This will provide a legal path to immigration that is
more attainable and an alternative to illegal immigration for many. Student visas will be adjusted
and increased, as stated in Section 3, allowing an increase in skilled worker visas. This will in
turn raise the amount of American jobs, while benefiting our economy and our progression as a
country.
In Section 4, the bill institutes a regulation system to track immigrants with visas when in
the country to ensure their location and employment status. This will deter a great amount of
illegal immigration by halting overstayed visas. Sub-sections A and B outline the punishments
for overstaying a visa or not checking in such as fines and deportation, showing that we can
remain strict in our immigration laws and make sure that our national regulations are not seen as
lenient.
This bill will also serve to reform a huge issue with immigration now, which is that
people who want to come into the United States today may wait up to decades to receive a visa.
In Section 2, it states that visas will be given to each country appropriately. This would reform
the visa system so that applicants will have a shorter waiting period as the amount of visas given
to each country will be proportionalized to their size and demand. Rather than merely increasing
the amount of visas, this bill will allocate the right amount of visas to match the demand.
The reforms proposed within the Visa Reform and Enforcement Bill deal with essential
problems posed by immigration and that are not covered by our current immigration system. It
provides a clear path to legal status and maintains our economic health and stability while
enforcing that breaking our laws is strictly prohibited. I urge you to vote for this bipartisanly

natured bill because we direly need to reform our immigration laws to set an example for the
world and to resolve not only the problems of immigration that our country is facing today, but
the ones that we will face tomorrow and in the future.