Thread: House Republicans Pitch Immigration Plan: Enforce Current La

House Republicans Pitch Immigration Plan: Enforce Current Law Now
Tuesday , June 19, 2007


WASHINGTON —

Republican House lawmakers pushed a plan Tuesday to enforce current immigration laws to solve the nation's illegal immigration problem, dismissing the Senate plan over their own.

"I would rather have just the current law than have what the Senate has talked about," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told reporters at a press conference. "Ideally, you would have the current law plus the legislation we are proposing today. We want to stop the Senate amnesty bill in its tracks right now."

King, the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, King's No. 2 on the panel, are introducing an immigration reform proposal that would enforce current immigration law and tighten border security in response to the 12 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.

Some House lawmakers say the Senate proposal offers amnesty for illegal immigrants instead of enforcing the border, a priority laid out in an immigration reform bill signed into law last year.

"The immigration status quo is intolerable. Not because our immigration laws are broken, but because they are not vigorously enforced," Smith said in a statement.

King said several administrations, not just the current one, have failed to enforce immigration law.

"No administration made any real attempt," King said. "The record shows a lack of enforcement."

Asked about suggestions that the immigration reforms be passed in pieces, rather than as a whole bill, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he's "not sure there are advantages" to moving forward in a "segmented way" on the immigration bill.

"Some people are talking about (it) ... I'm not talking about it; it's not something, certainly at this time that the leadership is pushing as an option but it is obviously an option that is being discussed," he said.

On the Senate side, Sen. Mitch McConnell recently said he wasn't sure if the stalled bill will pass, and was unable to predict whether the Senate could finish the legislation before their Fourth of July vacation.

"It's a mixed picture," McConnell, R-Ky., said on Sunday. "There are good things in the bill, and not so good things in the bill."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced plans to revive the stalled bill this week after lawmakers finish the energy bill. President Bush visited lawmakers last week on Capitol Hill to seek support to work on the bill again.

King and Smith criticized the Senate bill for requesting only 370 miles of border fencing and 18,000 Border Patrol agents while current law requires 700 miles or border fencing and 23,000 agents by 2010.

Their proposal also would allow the market to determine the number of temporary agricultural workers each year and would make English the official language of the United States.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,284454,00.html

Bring back HR 4437

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

House Republicans introduce 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
June 19, 2007


WASHINGTON -- In a sharp rebuke to President Bush, House Republicans today introduced their own immigration reform and border security bill, a tough measure that would bar illegal immigrants from gaining legal status, require employers to check the legal status of all workers and make English the nation's official language.

The Secure Borders First Act stresses operational control over the border as one of its core principles. The bill would reject "amnesty" and insist that the administration do more to enforce existing laws.

The lawmakers behind the bill also introduced a seven-page resolution detailing the myriad ways in which they believe the Bush administration and its predecessors have not only failed to implement immigration laws, but made it easier for illegal immigrants to live and work in the U.S.

"The federal government has lost credibility with the American people on immigration," said Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who contributed sections of the bill.

The bill's authors, Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Peter King (R-N.Y.), cast their bill as a challenge to the immigration legislation the Senate is expected to take up again this week.

King derided the Senate bill as a danger to national security because it would not secure the borders. He said its provision allowing illegal immigrants to eventually gain citizenship was "against the wishes of the American people."

"We want to stop the Senate amnesty bill in its tracks right now," King said.

House Republicans passed an immigration bill last year that focused solely on enforcement and included a controversial measure that would have made felons of all illegal immigrants and those who helped them. That measure, which is not included in this year's bill, was a driving force in massive nationwide demonstrations for broader reform that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants. The sight of foreign flags among the crowds in Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities hardened the conservatives' resolve.

King said House Republicans were not worried about another round of demonstrations. "We shouldn't allow policy to be determined by riots," he said. "We have to do what's right, not by threat of what's happening on the street."

The new bill addresses major issues in immigration but it also turns a microscope on smaller issues that particularly frustrate conservatives. It would ban the use of matricula consular cards, identification cards issued by Mexican consulates and used by immigrants to open bank accounts or buy homes. It would make three convictions for drunk driving grounds for deportation.

The bill would require the deployment of at least 18,000 more border patrol agents by Dec. 31, 2008. It would also require the full implementation of US-VISIT, a long-troubled program that is meant to track entries and exits by land, sea and air.

American citizens would be affected by many of the changes proposed for workplace enforcement, including the mandatory database checks of employee eligibility, the creation of tamper-proof birth certificates and a nationwide electronic system for tracking birth and death records.

Smith said the bill would also allow for greater information sharing among the Homeland Security Department, the Social Security Administration and the Treasury Department to identify illegal immigrants. "One of the problems we have is that databases don't mix," Smith said. "We have to correct that ... if you're going to have any kind of worker verification program."

Another section would modify an existing guest worker program for agriculture alone, lowering current pay requirements and no longer obligating farmers to provide housing for foreign workers. "There's a consensus that foreign workers are needed in the agriculture sector," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).

Workers would not be able to bring their family and would not be able to gain citizenship, and one-quarter of their wages would be held in escrow to be picked up at the border when they returned home. They could stay for up to 22 months at a time and could participate repeatedly in the program but would have to return home between work periods for a duration of one-fifth the length of their stay in the U.S.

The bill would require the detention and deportation of all gang members. Currently, gang members are not deportable unless they have committed a crime. Those from some countries can hold special immigration status, while others can stay in the U.S. as asylum seekers. The bill would close those harbors and enable tougher sanctions against gang members by adopting State Department procedures used against terrorist groups.

"There are 850,000 criminal gang members in the United States," said Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.). "They are the sixth largest army in the world."

nicole.gaouette@latimes.com

So far it sounds good, and I like the idea of a real piece of legislation being active to further discourage votes on the Senate amnesty.

Thank goodness we have some solid individuals in the House.

I am glad they are sending this message. It is much needed.