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Congressman
Paul Ryan
The vast majority of Americans agree that our immigration system is broken, and Congress has sought to fix it with reform. In the 109th Congress, the House passed a reform bill that would have strengthened our immigration laws and demanded enforcement of them. I supported this measure as a first step in fixing our system. The Senate, on the other hand, passed a comprehensive bill that would have combined enforcement with a guest worker program and an earned pathway to citizenship. Unfortunately, the two chambers did not come to an agreement on these larger bills.
It is estimated that there are currently 11-13 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, and from Oct 1, 2006 to June 1, 2007 alone, the Border Patrol apprehended some 682,468 people along the southern border. The increase in Border Patrol apprehensions of non-Mexican people raises major concerns about national security, and we must pass laws to address this issue. Illegal immigration, which is a direct result of this flawed system, is an affront to the rule of law and an unacceptable security risk for all Americans.
Protecting the Border and Enforcing Immigration
Laws.
With my support, the House successfully passed H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, on September 14, 2006. After passing the Senate on September 29, President Bush signed H.R. 6061 into law on October 26, 2006. This law will strengthen America’s control of its borders and ports through additional barriers and fencing. It includes more than 700 miles of two-layered reinforced fencing along the Southwest border and mandates that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) achieve and maintain control over the border through a “virtual fence.” This virtual fence will consist of cameras, ground sensors, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. It also mandates that DHS assess threats on the northern border with Canada.
In addition to H.R. 6061, there were three other bills that passed the House with my support toward the end of the 109th Congress. Unfortunately, none of these bills received consideration in the Senate. I am hopeful that we can use some of the elements in these pieces of legislation for future bills in the 110th Congress.
The House passed H.R. 4830, the Border Tunnel Prevention Act, by a vote of 422-0 on September 21, 2006. This bill would have enacted criminal penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment for people who knowingly construct or finance the building of an unauthorized tunnel across a U.S. international border. It also stated that people who recklessly allow the construction or use of a tunnel on their own land would be subject to 10 years in jail. Further, people who use the tunnel to smuggle aliens, contraband, drugs, weapons, or terrorists would have been subjected to twice the penalty that would have otherwise been imposed had the unlawful activity not made use of a tunnel.
During this Congress, the FY2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act included language that weakened key provisions of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. As a proponent of border security and a supporter of the Secure Fence Act, I was deeply concerned with the inclusion of these provisions, which removed the requirement for double-layered fencing and specific construction zones and benchmarks already enacted into law. The Omnibus language also places overall fence design approval within several extraneous layers of bureaucracy, which is certain to delay timely construction benchmarks.
Operational control of our borders should be among the highest priorities of Congress. Every nation has the right to control entry and exit across its border. Porous borders leave us susceptible to the illegal crossing of terrorists, drug lords, and gang members, placing our homeland security in serious jeopardy. Because of the importance of this issue, I joined 104 other Members of Congress in signing a January 24, 2008, letter to Speaker Pelosi expressing concern with the inclusion of these provisions in FY2008 Omnibus Appropriations. I urge Congress to make border fence construction a top priority, and will continue working toward enforcement of our nation’s borders.
Action in the 110th Congress.
On June 28, 2007, the Senate failed to garner 60 votes to continue debate on a comprehensive immigration reform bill. It was the second attempt to pass such a bill in less than a month. It is uncertain whether this issue will be addressed again in the 110th Congress. After much debate on this highly controversial issue, Senators were unable to reconcile their differences to produce comprehensive reform. There was much concern, for example, that the legislation provided amnesty. I shared this concern. However, there were also some good elements, such as strong border security provisions and new tools to prevent employers from hiring illegal workers. These initiatives would have helped deter illegal immigration and encouraged immigration through legal channels.
The legislation also appropriately required illegal immigrants who want to seek a green card or citizenship to leave the United States and reapply in their home country. After illegal immigrants have reapplied, their petition would have been placed at the “back of the line,” behind all other legal immigrants’ petitions. I think this is the right approach. However, I had strong concerns about the “Z visa,” which would have allowed an illegal immigrant to stay in America indefinitely through continual renewals. This effectively serves the same purpose as acquiring a green card, without having to leave the country or waiting at the end of the line. In my opinion, this amounted to amnesty, and I could not support it. I believe we need to find solutions that preserve the rule of law and do not reward illegal behavior. Finally, this legislation failed to effectively address the principles of reform that are necessary for enforceable, fair and comprehensive immigration reform.
While we work on illegal immigration, we must also focus on fixing legal immigration policy. This would include expanding access to visas for seasonal and temporary labor. Wisconsin, for example, has relied on seasonal labor for agriculture and other industries. Due to a lack of H-2B visas (seasonal labor visas), some Wisconsin businesses have suffered with a limited workforce. Allowing for a streamlined, safe, and efficient visa process will provide businesses with needed workers and relieve pressure on the borders.
Employee
Verification.
An important aspect to creating a streamlined, safe and efficient visa process is to allow employers to easily and accurately verify an employee’s legal status in a timely matter. To accomplish this goal, I believe that there are several principles to keep in mind. First and foremost, an employee’s information must be safe from identity theft. Next, any system must be accurate and secure. A verification tool that is easily fabricated will not provide the assurance required that employers are not unintentionally employing illegal aliens. Last, a verification tool must be immediate. As we saw last summer with traveler’s difficulties with their passports, it can cause great disruption and difficulties to ordinary Americans if they cannot get the documentation they need from the government. We must ensure that verification occurs immediately, and that employees are able to work and receive their paychecks.
To this end, I have introduced H.R. 5515, the New Employee Verification Act, as an important way forward in solving this problem. Specifically, H.R. 5515:
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Strengthens enforcement through enhanced employer penalties;
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Provides a superior, user-friendly employment verification system by replacing the current paper-based, error-prone, I-9 work status verification process with a paperless, reliable Electronic Employment Verification System
(EEVS);
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Avoids a “big brother” law enforcement agency building new databases on law abiding citizens;
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Creates an alternate, voluntary Secure Electronic Employment Verification System (SEEVS) to verify employees’ identity and work eligibility and to “lock” that identity once verified;
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Ensures each employee’s identity is safeguarded through the use of a biometric identifier (such as a thumbprint) should they participate in SEEVS. The employee would then present their identifier to their employer to confirm their identity and work authorization; and
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Prevents wages earned through future unauthorized work from being used to determine benefits.
Conclusion.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it is clear that our immigration system is not working. People who are attempting to come to the country legally find that it takes years to process citizenship applications and requires endless paperwork and other requirements. In order to discourage illegal immigration, I believe it is important that we work toward improving our immigration system so needed workers and eligible people are allowed to receive visas in a timely manner or have their applications for citizenship considered. I do not support amnesty for the 11-13 million illegal immigrants already living in the United States. Instead, we must maintain the rule of law and move toward an orderly, efficient and fair immigration system.
Immigration reform is not just an immigration issue—it is a national security priority that deserves our utmost attention. In a post-September 11 world, it is vital that we secure our borders before we begin to address the estimated 11-13 million illegal immigrants in this country. However, the job does not end there. We must work expeditiously to gain control of illegal immigration and enforce our laws. It is important to promote policies that deter further illegal entry into the United States, and it is imperative to create an environment where respect for the rule of law is strong. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this important issue and welcome your feedback at any time.
Additional Information.
For more information on
immigration policies and issues, please refer to the following
web sites:
The House
Committee on the Judiciary:
www.house.gov/judiciary
U.S.
Department of Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov
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