Recent Floor Statement



Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) - Conference Report On H.R. 2360, Department Of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) - Waiving Points Of Order Against Conference Report On H.R. 2360, Department Of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006






October 11, 2005
In this update:

More than 80 House Members Call for Enforcement of Immigration Laws
Congress Clears Homeland Security Funding Bill
Bush Administration to Weigh in on Competing Guestworker Proposals
Doolittle Offers Bill to End "Catch and Release" Policy and Bar Mortgages for Illegal Aliens
Hutchison Unveils Bill to Bolster State and Local Immigration Enforcement
Sens. Alexander and Cornyn Introduce Bill to Strengthen American Citizenship
New Cosponsors of Key Bills
Recent Floor Statements
More than 80 House Members Call for Enforcement of Immigration Laws

Eighty-two House members voiced their opposition to guestworker programs until current immigration laws are enforced in an Oct. 7 letter to President Bush authored by Reps. John Hostettler (R-IN), Tom Tancredo (R-CO) and Lamar Smith (R-TX). Hostettler chairs the House Immigration Subcommittee, Tancredo chairs the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, and Smith is a former chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee.

The letter, signed by a large portion of the Republican conference, signals growing political momentum for putting enforcement of current immigration laws and securing the borders ahead of any new guestworker programs. The letter states that past legislation coupling enforcement measures with guestworker and amnesty provisions have seen the amnesty and guestworker provisions implemented but not the enforcement provisions. This has resulted in mass illegal immigration and lost faith in the government's ability to control the borders.

Several examples of the federal government's unwillingness to enforce laws against illegal immigration are cited in the letter. Most notably, while it is unlawful to hire an illegal alien, not one employer was fined for doing so last year. Other examples cited include the government's failure to complete the exit-entry visa tracking system approved by Congress over nine years ago, and the current "catch and release" policy which enables 85 percent of apprehended illegal aliens to go free.

If your member is a signatory (see list below), please make a quick phone call to express your gratitude for putting enforcement first! Call the capitol switchboard (202-225-3121) and ask to be connected or find your representative's number here on our web site.

The letter was signed by the following 82 House Republicans: Hostettler (IN), Smith (TX), Tancredo (CO), Hayworth (AZ), Paul (TX), King (IA), Sullivan (OK), Rohrabacher (CA), Norwood (GA), Goode (VA), Marchant (TX), Culberson (TX), Weldon (FL), Coble (NC), Brown-Waite (FL), Duncan (TN), Sessions (TX), Bilirakis (FL), Jones (NC), Garrett (NJ), Gutknecht (MN), Barrett (SC), McCotter (MI), Deal (GA), Royce (CA), Sodrel (IN), Bradley (NH), Wamp (TN), Blackburn (TN), Ney (OH), Jenkins (TN), McKeon (CA), Poe (TX), Jo Ann Davis (VA), Burton (IN), Hunter (CA), Capito (WV), Hefley (CO), Cunningham (CA), Carter (TX), Istook (OK), Burgess (TX), Cubin (WY), Gary Miller (CA), Platts (PA), Stearns (FL), McHenry (NC), Akin (MO), Johnson (TX), Rogers (MI), Issa (CA), McCaul (TX), Myrick (NC), Weldon (PA), Hayes (NC) , Bishop (UT), Westmoreland (GA), Aderholt (AL), Bachus (AL), Manzullo (IL), Foxx (NC), Bartlett (MD), Boozman (AR), Ryun (KN), Gingrey (GA), Miller (FL), Brady (TX), Gordon (TN), Everett (AL), Calvert (CA), Pickering (MS), Buyer (IN), Drake (VA), Graves (MO), Ramstad (MN), Pearce (NM), Kelly (NY), Lewis (KY), Shuster (PA), Forbes (VA), Hoekstra (MI), Neugebauer (TX).

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Congress Clears Homeland Security Funding Bill

Congress approved the conference report for the 2006 Homeland Security Appropriation bill last week, clearing the way for the president's signature.

The House adopted the measure Thursday night on a 347-70 vote. The Senate cleared the bill Friday morning by voice vote.

The final bill falls short of fully funding Border Patrol and Immigration Investigator staffing increases recommended by the 9/11 Commission and authorized by the Intelligence Reform Act passed by Congress late last fall.

The conference report provides funding for the hiring of 1,000 new border patrol agents next year, which combined with the 500 border patrol agents funded by the FY'05 Emergency Supplemental bill brings the total number of agents to be hired next year to 1,500. The Intelligence Reform Act authorized the hiring of 2,000 border patrol agent in each of five years beginning on October 1, 2005, the beginning of the new fiscal year.

The bill also includes funding for 250 new criminal investigators and 100 Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents. When combined with the FY'05 Emergency Supplemental, 568 new ICE agents and officers will be hired next year; far below the 800 authorized by the Intelligence Reform Act to be added each year through 2010.

Fortunately, the bill does include $40 million in grants to states to assist in implementing the driver's license requirements of the REAL ID Act. Under REAL ID, states driver's licenses can only be accepted for federal purposes such as boarding an airplane if they meet specific requirements and are not issued to illegal aliens.

The conference agreement also retained an amendment offered by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) providing $5 million to train state and local officers to enforce immigration laws.

The final bill provides:

$1 billion for immigration and detention custody operations;
$135 million for transportation and removal of illegal immigrants;
$40 million to implement REAL ID
$5 million to train state and local officers to enforce immigration laws; and
$28 million for alternatives to detention
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Bush Administration to Weigh in on Competing Guestworker Proposals

Get ready for the Bush Administration's next push for amnesty and more foreign guest workers. Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff and Labor Secretary Chao are scheduled to testify next Tuesday, Oct. 18, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on proposals to overhaul our nation's immigration laws. The hearing will likely focus on competing guestworker bills by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA).

The Cornyn/Kyl bill (S. 143 combines the promise of enforcement with a new unlimited guestworker program that would require illegal aliens to return home before becoming guestworkers. The McCain/Kennedy legislation (S. 1033) would allow illegal aliens to participate as new guestworkers in a new guestworker program that lets "guests" stay permanently and ultimately become citizens.

Chertoff and Chao were slated to appear before the committee last July, but canceled at the last minute because the president needed more time to work out his policy preferences. The announcement that they will testify next Tuesday indicates the president is ready to intensify his guestworker/amnesty lobbying efforts.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, "Comprehensive Immigration Reform II", is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 9:30AM in room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

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Doolittle Offers Bill to End "Catch and Release" Policy and Bar Mortgages for Illegal Aliens

FAIR applauds Rep. John Doolittle's (R-CA) introduction of H.R. 4032 last week, legislation to expand expedited removal of illegal aliens and bar banks from issuing home mortgages to illegal aliens.

It is long past time that the current "catch and release" policy that masquerades as immigration enforcement be ended once and for all. This bill would end the practice by requiring the use of expedited removal of illegal aliens, which requires they be detained until being removed. In addition, banks in several states are increasingly aiding and abetting illegal immigration by providing mortgage loans to illegal aliens who can be deported at any time. By barring this practice, the bill adds needed teeth to one of the oldest laws on the books against illegal immigration; harboring.

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Hutchison Unveils Bill to Bolster State and Local Immigration Enforcement

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) introduced S. 1823 last Wednesday, legislation to give state and local officials expanded authority to arrest, detain and prosecute illegal aliens as well as create a Volunteer Border Marshall Program. Under the proposed Volunteer Border Marshall Program, trained, state-licensed peace officers could be sworn in and assigned to the Border Patrol on temporary missions to identify and control illegal immigration and human and drug trafficking. Click here to learn more about S. 1823.

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Sens. Alexander and Cornyn Introduce Bill to Strengthen American Citizenship

On Oct. 4, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Strengthening American Citizenship Act (S. 1815), legislation to help encourage legal immigrants who are prospective American citizens to learn our common language, history and way of government. Click here for bill details.
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New Cosponsors of Key Bills

The following members signed on to good and bad immigration legislation this past week. If your legislators are listed, please use the phone numbers provided to thank them for supporting good legislation, or to urge them to reconsider their support for bad legislation. Follow the links below to learn more about these bills.

Thank these members for supporting good reform legislation!

H.R. 3137 - The CLEAR ACT of 2005

Rep. John Peterson (R-PA) 202-225-5121
Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL) 202-225-1252
Rep. J. Gresham Barrett (R-SC) 202-225-5301
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) 202-225-6565
Urge these members to reconsider their support of the following dangerous bills!

S. 1438 - Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act of 2005

Rep. Richard Burr (R-NC) 202-224-3154
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Recent Floor Statements

Oct. 6, 2005
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)
Conference Report On H.R. 2360, Department Of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006

Oct. 6, 2005
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX)
Waiving Points Of Order Against Conference Report On H.R. 2360, Department Of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006

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