Herger Expresses Concern about Senate Immigration Bill

On May 17, several members of the U.S. Senate announced a bipartisan agreement on immigration reform legislation. Already, I have heard from hundreds of Northern Californians who have expressed their grave concerns about this proposal. I share those concerns. In 1986, Congress approved an amnesty for illegal immigrants that undermined the rule of law, was unfair to those who played by the rules, and served only to encourage future illegal immigration. The result is an illegal immigration problem that costs California taxpayers an estimated $10 billion every year. We must avoid repeating these mistakes.

Our illegal immigration crisis requires a solution, but the number one priority of any such effort must be to make our nation's borders fully secure. While the proponents of the Senate agreement claim that it puts border security first, I fear it's a bad sign that they would require only half of the border fence authorized in last year's Secure Fence Act to be constructed before the rest of the bill goes into effect. Any border security bill must also create a temporary legal worker program so our farmers and other employers can have access to the workers they need, but without amnesty.

I am also very troubled by the fact that the Senate agreement does not address the problem of "anchor babies," or children born to illegal immigrants. Part of what makes our current illegal immigration problem so difficult to deal with is that some 3 million illegal immigrants have children who were born in the United States and are therefore U.S. citizens. Failure to reform birthright citizenship rules virtually guarantees that we will face these problems again in the future.

It is important to note that the proposed bill is at the very earliest stage of the legislative process and therefore is far from a "done deal." Neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives has voted on it. Further, consideration in the United States Senate has been delayed for a week. Therefore, concerned Americans will have sufficient opportunity to express their concerns about this proposed Senate compromise. Regardless, I will not support any comprehensive immigration reform legislation unless I am fully satisfied that it truly secures our borders, respects the rule of law, and prevents future illegal immigration.