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Last September, I proposed to change Washington’s approach to illegal immigration by shifting the focus to border security first. I introduced a comprehensive border security first bill, with bipartisan support, that increases border patrol agents, adds detention facilities, cracks down on employers who break the law and constructs a border barrier like the one that is working in San Diego.
Since last fall, I’ve feared that Congress would get tangled in an all-encompassing bill that would ultimately fail and leave our borders unsecured. That’s why I made “Border Security First” my mantra. Everyone agrees that we need to secure our borders but some in Congress have become focused on “do everything” bills that have gone nowhere and done nothing to solve the ongoing illegal immigration problem.
Seven months later, the debate about illegal immigration is stalled over disagreements regarding guest worker programs and other amnesty-related proposals and our borders remain unsecured.
When the Senate reconvenes next week, we should regroup around a tough border security measure that we know we can pass and then turn to the more contentious issues relating to illegal immigrants already here. A bipartisan bill I introduced with my colleague Sen. Sessions offers the comprehensive border security measures we need.
Here are a few of the bill’s comprehensive highlights, designed to secure our borders first:
SECURING THE BORDER Add 8,000 Border Patrol Agents Increase use of technology to assist with border surveillance Create and control a border zone along the U.S.-Mexico border
ENFORCING THE LAWS Add 1,000 personnel to investigate immigrant smuggling Add 10,000 worksite enforcement investigators and 5,000 fraud detection agents to crack down on employers who illegally employ immigrants Add 1,250 Customs and Border Protection Officers to assist with border control
VISA REFORM Eliminate the lottery-like Diversity Visa Program that allots 50,000 visas annually with no background check required Discontinue visas for immigrants from countries that deny or delay repatriation
HELPING EMPLOYERS IDENTIFY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Create an employment eligibility verification system for employers to verify the legal status of any prospective employee Increase the penalties for employers who don’t use the verification system or knowingly hire undocumented workers
PENALIZING LAW-BREAKERS Increase penalties for smugglers Enhance penalties for certain crimes committed by illegal immigrants Make illegal immigrants participating in criminal street gangs deportable
Securing our borders demands this combination of elements to stop illegal immigrants and smugglers and to enable employers to verify the work eligibility of their employees.
I’ve not forgotten about the 11 million illegal immigrants already on American soil. But as the latest Senate stalemate proves, this issue’s progress depends on taking one step at a time. And the first step is controlling and securing our border.
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