Thread: "Secure Borders First Act" introduced in House!

I was about to post this and saw your thread. I think this is talking about the same bill.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press...formbill.shtml

TRUE IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL INTRODUCED

Secure Borders First Act of 2007

June 19, 2007

washington d.c. — Immigration Reform Caucus Chairman Brian Bilbray (R-CA) joined Congressman Peter T. King (R-NY), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, to unveil two new border security and immigration initiatives—a comprehensive border security and immigration reform bill as well as a resolution calling for full enforcement of all current immigration laws. The two new measures represent a strong ‘Security First-No Amnesty’ alternative to the Kennedy-Bush Senate Amnesty bill.

“We decided to take action today rather than wait for the Senate to pass an amnesty bill the American people clearly do not want,â€

I still don't see a HR #. Is there one or is it a tag on?

Another LATimes article about it:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... ome-center

House Republicans introduce their own immigration bill

The measure, a rebuke to Bush, would bar amnesty for illegal immigrants and require legal-status checks for all workers.
By Nicole Gaouette, Times Staff Writer
7:11 PM PDT, June 19, 2007


WASHINGTON -- In a sharp rebuke to President Bush, House Republicans unveiled legislation Tuesday that would bar illegal immigrants from gaining legal status in the U.S., require tamper-proof birth certificates for Americans and make English the nation's official language.

The measure's core principles include gaining control of the border and enforcing existing immigration laws -- it does not provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants as the Bush plan does.

The House bill stands virtually no chance of becoming law, or even advancing, in the Democratic-controlled Congress. Still, it casts in bold relief the split between Bush and many fellow Republicans in the immigration debate.

The bill surfaced one day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., working with the White House, resurrected efforts to pass the broader legislation Bush wants.

The authors of the House bill also are pushing for a congressional resolution detailing ways in which they believe the federal government has failed to enforce immigration law and made it easier for illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S.

"The current illegal immigration crisis is a direct result of this and previous Administrations failing to enforce or adequately enforce at least eight immigration laws," the resolution said.

The bill's authors, Reps. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said it was meant to challenge the immigration bill the Senate plans to return to later this week.

That measure, King said, goes "against the wishes of the American people."

In another sign of GOP restiveness over the immigration issue, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., introduced a resolution Tuesday calling on Bush to enforce existing immigration laws in order to halt "the lawlessness at our borders."

Sessions has been a vocal critic of the Bush approach to revamping immigration laws. The president, however, travels to Alabama later this week to headline a fundraiser for the senator.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel rejected the criticism that the administration has been lax in border enforcement. As one example, he cited a sharp rise in funding under Bush for stricter border control.

In 2001, enforcement funding totaled $4.6 billion; that has increased significantly and in his latest budget request, Bush is seeking $11.8 billion.

Stanzel also noted that the Senate bill includes goals for border security that would have to be achieved before other aspects of the overhaul could proceed.

Reid wants the Senate to decide the fate of the immigration bill before Congress breaks for its July 4 recess. But even if the measure passes the chamber, it faces an uncertain fate in the House.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has told administration officials that she will not take up the bill unless about 70 Republicans are brought on board to help pass it.

The bill unveiled Tuesday is the equivalent of a warning flag that conservatives intend to fight for those Republican votes.

"It seems a formal way of putting proponents on notice that there will be resistance from those quarters in the House," said Roberto Suro, director of the non-partisan Pew Hispanic Center.

He added that the number of co-sponsors the bill attracted could act as "an indication of how many votes there are to oppose something that resembles the Senate bill or ... includes the legalization program."

The measure would require that 18,000 border patrol agents be deployed by Dec. 31, 2008. Currently, the force totals about 12,000.

It would also require the full implementation of US-VISIT, a program that is meant to track entries and exits at all ports-of-entry but has fallen short of that goal.

U.S. citizens would be affected by many of the changes proposed for work site enforcement, including mandatory checks of all employees' eligibility and a nationwide electronic system for tracking birth and death records.