Thread: Sen. Sessions, et al submit resolution re changes

By Barb Barrett, Staff Writer
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and five other GOP senators wrote President Bush today that federal policies are encouraging illegal immigration.
The senators, led by Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, also submitted a resolution in the U.S. Senate calling on the federal government to make a host of changes on immigration policies, among them:

— ending the policy of returning captured migrants at the border into Mexico without prosecution; — enforcing the prohibition of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants; — increasing by thousands the numbers of detention beds, Border Patrol agents and immigration investigators by the end of the fiscal year; — building 700 miles of fence along the border; — increasing the use of expedited removal proceedings for illegal immigrants and enforcing the provisions on overstayed visas.

A joint resolution was submitted in the U.S. House of Representatives as well.

"Such enforcement measures can be taken now, without enacting additional legislation," the senators wrote to Bush.

Dole, a Republican from Salisbury, also released a statement, saying, "The federal government's failure to carry out the immigration laws on the books sends the message that this country is not really serious about securing our borders and communities and stemming the flow of illegal aliens. We don't need more empty promises - we need real proof that our borders are secure and that our laws are enforced."


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Sessions says existing immigration law should be enforced

Senator remains opposed to reform bill
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
MARY ORNDORFF
News Washington correspondent
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions on Tuesday resumed his crusade against President Bush's immigration-reform plan by issuing a list of demands that the administration first more tightly enforce laws already on the books.

In a letter to President Bush and a nonbinding resolution introduced in the House and Senate, Sessions and other conservative opponents of the immigration bill say they want federal agencies to clamp down in 13 different areas, such as refusing in-state college tuition for undocumented immigrants, building 700 miles of fence on the border with Mexico and increasing space for holding illegal immigrants when they are caught.

Sessions held a news conference on Capitol Hill with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., to announce the demands. Meeting them, Sessions said, "would ensure we're truly committed to security at the border and reducing illegal immigration."

He said Congress was unlikely to schedule a vote on the resolution. And even if Bush were to quickly agree to the additional enforcement, Sessions stopped short of promising that it would cause him to flip and support Bush's immigration-reform proposal.

"I just don't know. We'd have to look at that. I can't vote for a bill that reduces illegality by only 13 percent," Sessions said, citing an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

Sessions continues to be a leading opponent of the bipartisan agreement backed by the White House, major business groups, agriculture interests and others who say it's the only way to bring order to an immigration system that has gone awry.

The Alabama Republican attacks the bill on several fronts: that it won't do enough to reduce illegal immigration, that it will increase the number of people allowed to stay or enter legally, and that it doesn't go far enough to limit legal status to those who have an education, job skills or can speak English, to name a few objections. He has said previously that the bill is not redeemable by amendment, an opinion that has not changed this week as he pledged to try and kill it with whatever Senate tactics are allowed.

"We're working hard to make sure we get a good bill or none," Sessions said. The bill also is opposed by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

E-mail: morndorff@bhamnews.com

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