Thank you for contacting me regarding the important issue of securing our borders and illegal immigration. A bill that would address this matter is the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act, H.R. 4088. Another important piece of legislation is the Fence by Date Certain Act, H.R. 4987. I appreciate hearing your views on this issue.
First, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Georgia . I think you will find that Georgia has a very bad illegal immigration problem, just as Los Angeles does. As you may know, the SAVE Act seeks to provide immigration reform by securing America's borders, clarifying and enforcing existing laws, and enabling a employer verification program. This legislation has been referred to numerous U.S. House of Representative committees, including both the U.S. House Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees, for further legislative review.
H.R. 4088 attempts to stem the tide of illegal immigration at the border and the workplace by utilizing a three-pronged approach: 1. Secure the Northern and Southern borders. 2. Create a mandatory employment verification program. 3. Increase enforcement measures inside the United States . I believe that these steps are vital to solving this country's illegal immigration problem, and that is why I am an original co-sponsor of this legislation.
The SAVE Act provides 8,000 new border patrol agents and utilizes new technology and infrastructure to secure the border. It also creates a pilot program to increase aerial surveillance, satellite, and equipment sharing between the Department o f Homeland Security and the Department o f Defense to better conserve taxpayer dollars.
Step two of this program emphasizes employment verification. The SAVE Act strengthens the current "Basic Pilot" E-verify program, which is currently a voluntary employment verification program administered by the Department of Homeland Security, by making it mandatory for all employers. H.R. 4088 also closes the existing loopholes in the E-Verify program to detect multiple people using the same social security number and to detect people using stolen identities.
Finally, H.R. 4088 addresses the issue of what to do about the millions of people that are currently here illegally. This legislation would increase the strength of federal law enforcement by employing more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, as well as provide training for additional state and local law enforcement personnel. The SAVE Act would also expedite the removal o f illegal aliens by expanding detention capacity and increasing the number of Federal District Court Judges.
I also support H.R. 4987, the Fence by Date Certain Act, and am currently in the process of being added as a co-sponsor to this important piece of legislation.
In spite of the current trouble with illegal immigration, we are a nation of immigrants, and it is clear that anyone who wants to come to this nation and properly follow the rules of admission to citizenship or legal status should be welcomed with open arms. But we must not reward those who violate our laws when coming into this country. People who have come to the United States illegally should not be given amnesty.
Removing the incentive for people to come to this country for free government benefits is also a vital solution. A number of women come to the United States and try to have a child as soon as possible. Since the baby is born on American soil, it is an American citizen and qualifies for welfare benefits, allowing the mother to stay in the country. I am a co-sponsor of H.R. 1940, which is legislation aimed at eliminating the practice of "birthright citizenship."
Most of our illegal immigration problems result from the failure of our legal immigration system. Our legal immigration system is seriously backlogged, and needs to be updated. Some centers processing applications are only now reaching applications that were made in the late 1990s. Forty percent of the illegal aliens in our country have overstayed legally granted visas. I strongly support efforts to reform our legal immigration system into a system that works.
This is an issue which is vitally important to the future of our nation. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your representative in the Congress-it is hearing from people like you that enables me to better do my job here on your behalf. Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. For additional information regarding current legislation and the Third District, I invite you to visit my website at
http://www.house.gov/westmoreland, and to receive my monthly newsletter, you can sign up on my website at
http://westmoreland.house.gov/Forms/EmailSignup/.
Sincerely,
Lynn A Westmoreland
Member of Congress