The Border Line > Archives > 2008 > March > 07 > Entry

Republicans, Democrats push immigration enforcement bills
By Eunice Moscoso | Friday, March 7, 2008, 10:23 AM

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing bills that crack down on illegal immigration, keeping the issue alive in Congress during a volatile election year.


In the House, conservative Democrats are asking their party leaders to support an enforcement bill sponsored by freshman Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina (pictured).

The legislation, dubbed the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement Act or SAVE Act, would increase the Border Patrol by 8,000, train more state and local police to enforce immigration law, and require that all businesses, within four years, use a government program to verify the legal status of their employees.

The program, known as E-Verify is currently voluntary. Businesses and civil-rights groups have argued that the poor quality of some government databases poses a major problem.

Shuler said that his legislation is a bi-partisan solution to the pressing problem of illegal immigration which costs taxpayers millions in schooling, health care, and incarceration costs and has brought drugs into his district.

“We obviously have to secure our borders,â€