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Miller supports get-tough bill on illegal immigration

She differs with Bush approach

PUBLISHED: October 20, 2005

Chad Selweski
Macomb Daily Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Candice Miller has endorsed a hard-nosed bid to deport illegal immigrants and spend billions of dollars to police U.S borders and prosecute businesses that hire workers who entered the country illegally.
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Miller is one of about 30 conservative House Republicans who have co-sponsored a wide-ranging bill that would hire more enforcement personnel, employ high-tech detection equipment at border crossings, and enlist the Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency to crack down on employers who harbor illegal aliens.

"You're not supposed to be hiring illegal aliens. But it's very easy to say, 'I didn't know,' " said Miller, a Harrison Township Republican. "You always hear them say that we can't get Americans to take these jobs. But in our neck of the woods, those are pretty good jobs."

To assist the enforcement process, the bill would require all Americans to obtain a fraud-proof Social Security card featuring a digitized photo. The legislation also eyes long-term measures by preventing newborn children from gaining U.S. citizenship status unless at least one of their parents is a citizen or legal immigrant.

The legislation stands at odds with both the Bush administration's plans for a guest worker program and the approach advocated by immigrant advocacy groups.

The Washington-based National Immigration Forum dismisses the bill as an effort by a small group of House Republicans that ignores the huge spike in federal enforcement costs experienced over the past decade, with few results.

"I don't think it's a serious policy proposal to fix our broken immigration system," said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the group. "It's lopsided and myopic. This does not begin to meet the mark."

The bill is expected to also draw considerable opposition from the U.S. business community and the Mexican government.

Authored by GOP Rep. J.D. Hayworth of Arizona, the legislation would dictate several dramatic initiatives:


Hiring 10,000 additional personnel at the Department of Homeland Security whose sole responsibility would be to enforce immigration rules and to prosecute employers who hire illegal aliens. The cost is estimated at $500 million.

Adding 10,000 Border Patrol agents, including 1,250 at ports of entry. The cost is pegged at another $500 million.

Stationing high-tech equipment at border crossings that assists agents with surveillance and detection to block illegal entry. The price tag: $2.5 billion.

Imposing a 3-year moratorium on all visas to Mexicans for work-related or family-based stays in the United States. All aliens requiring temporary visas would have to post a bond that would be forfeited if they violate the terms of their permit.
Miller acknowledged that critics will view some of the provisions as harsh, and she admitted a "disconnect" has emerged between many congressional Republicans and the White House on immigration issues. But the congresswoman said that the "soaking up" of government, medical, educational and social services by illegal immigrants must end.

"The people are always ahead of the politicians on issues like these," she said. "People feel that our borders are too porous and that illegal immigration is out of control."