Ask Your Representatives to Take a Stand on Immigration Enforcement!

In June, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee Peter King (R-NY), and House Immigration Reform Caucus Chairman Brian Bilbray (R-CA) introduced a resolution calling on President Bush to vigorously enforce U.S. immigration laws. This resolution provides the strongest statement by our Representatives that they will no longer tolerate excuses by the Bush Administration for its failure to tackle illegal immigration. Now that the Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill (S.1639) has died in the Senate, our friends in the House feel it is more important than ever to press forward on this resolution to ensure that true immigration reform gets back on track.

House Resolution 499 urges the Bush Administration to take the following steps in order to substantially reduce illegal immigration and greatly improve the border security of the United States:

Implement the entry and exit portions of the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program (U.S.-VISIT), as required by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996;
Reverse the Treasury Department's decision to allow financial institutions to accept the Mexican matricula consular cards as valid identification for the purpose of opening bank accounts;
Enforce legally binding affidavits of support that sponsors of immigrants sign;
End the practice of catching illegal immigrants at the border and returning them without prosecution;
Enforce the employer sanctions enacted as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986;
Enforce section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which prohibits in-State college tuition for illegal aliens;
Require prosecution of anyone caught smuggling aliens across the border illegally, irrespective of how many aliens are being smuggled;
Increase the number of full-time Border Patrol agents by at least 1,306 by the end of fiscal year 2007, as authorized by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
Increase the number of detention beds for illegal immigrants by at least 15,944 by the end of fiscal year 2007, as authorized by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
Increase the number of full-time immigration investigators by at least 1,600 by the end of fiscal year 2007, as authorized by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
Comply with the Secure Fence Act of 2006 by building over 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border; and
Increase the use of expedited removal procedures for all illegal immigrants eligible for expedited removal under United States immigration laws.
House Resolution 499 (H.Res.499) already has 61 co-sponsors in the House, but we need more to pressure House Leadership and the Bush Administration to take action! Please call your Representatives today and urge them to sign on as co-sponsors of House Resolution 499!!! If your Representative has already signed on as a co-sponsor, please thank them and urge them to continue to support immigration enforcement legislation.
To see if your Representative is a co-sponsor of H.Res.499, click here. To find the phone number of your Representative, click here.

To receive more information from FAIR, click here.

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