Issues > Border Security and Immigration Reform
There is a broad-based consensus that our immigration system is broken. Since 2000, Congress has enacted around 90 laws that included immigration provisions, and while some of these measures have been helpful, it is clear that systemic problems persist and that we need to do all we can to immediately fix our broken immigration system.
I voted for H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, which was approved in the House on December 16, 2005, by a vote of 239-182. H.R. 4437 had provisions to strengthen border security, empower state and local law enforcement, increase employment eligibility verification and improve worksite enforcement, smuggling, detention, and other enforcement-related issues. I was disappointed that H.R. 4437 was not reconciled with the main Senate immigration reform bill in the 109th Congress, S. 2611, so the legislation was not enacted into law.
I have joined my colleagues in the 110th Congress to strengthen our border security in a number of ways, including:
- voted for H.R. 2764, the FY 2008 omnibus appropriations measure which President Bush signed into law [P.L. 110-161], including $3 billion of emergency border security and immigration enforcement funds that I strongly supported so we can regain operational control of our borders and enforce the laws already on our books;
- cosponsored and voted for H.R. 1773, the Safe American Roads Act sponsored by Rep. Nancy Boyda, which would limit a Bush Administration plan to allow unsafe long-haul Mexican trucks onto American highways;
- voted for H.R. 2638, the Homeland Security Appropriations for FY 2008, which, in addition to providing for $37.4 billion for strengthening our nation’s security, would provide for 950 new detention beds for illegal immigrants and the hiring of 3,000 additional border patrol agents;
- voted for Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite’s amendment to H.R. 2638, which would provide an additional $89.125 million for border fencing and technology to the $1 billion already provided for in the bill;
- voted for Rep. Steve King’s amendment to H.R. 2638, which would provide additional funding to promote the use of the Employment Eligibility Verification basic pilot program that permits employers to check the immigration status of potential employees;
- voted for H.R. 2399, the Alien Smuggling and Terrorism Prevention Act sponsored by Rep. Baron Hill’s [D-IN], which would increase penalties for knowingly bringing an illegal immigrant into our country, or harboring an illegal immigrant.
It is clear to me that Congress needs to replace our out-of-date and ineffective immigration laws with strong reforms that will improve our border security and make our immigration policies more realistic, enforceable, and complimentary to the global economy we live in. We must strictly enforce our current laws. We must crack down on employers who knowingly hire and take advantage of undocumented workers.
If you believe you have specific knowledge of any illegal immigration-related activity in the United States, you should contact the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security at: 1-866-DHS-2ICE [1-866-347-2423] in order to report it to federal officials who can act upon your report.
For more information about this important issue, read these reports prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS):