Lofgren Statement on H.R. 4437

Lofgren Statement on H.R. 4437

Washington, DC - Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) voted "no" and helped to lead the fight against H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act, when it passed the House of Representatives last December. Rep. Lofgren managed time on the House Floor against this bill. Please view her entire floor discussion from December 15-16, 2005 in the Congressional Record at http://thomas.loc.gov/.

"Every nation has the right to control its borders and, for America, it is clear that this job has not been accomplished. However, this bill is not the answer. It is a radical approach that has been criticized by a diverse group of organizations from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops. H.R. 4437 fails to provide solutions to our country's very real problem of national and border security while failing to appropriately address illegal immigration.

"In addition to failures by this Republican-controlled Congress, President Bush has not used the tools he already has to appropriately administer and enforce immigration law. This Administration refuses to properly fund the Border Patrol as authorized by Congress and recommended by the 9/11 Commission. The President has also failed to expand the Immigration Security Initiative, a program to inspect airline passengers abroad. It is estimated that as many as half those in the US without proper papers entered with a visa that has since expired.

"Sadly, Republicans in the House have chosen to ignore any comprehensive solutions and instead passed H.R. 4437, a radical approach that will neither secure this nation, nor solve the problem of illegal immigration."

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ca16_lofgren/032806_Lofgren_4437_Statement.html