Weekly Newsletter: Immigration Reform

Statement

I want to take this time to pass along my thoughts on what I believe will be one of the next big issues Congress will address: immigration reform. It's clear our immigration system is broken and must be fixed. This includes securing our border and enforcing the immigration laws we already have in place. Like many of you that have written emails, called and wrote messages on Facebook, I'm also concerned about President Obama's ideas for immigration reform.

President Obama recently backed the immigration reform plan of Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that puts illegal immigrants on the path to legal status by admitting they broke the law by entering the U.S. illegally, and then simply pay fines and back taxes.

I disagree with the plan supported by the president. While I agree we must work to reform our entire immigration process, it must be in a manner that does not include any form of amnesty. It's unfair to provide a shortcut towards legalization for illegal workers. I won't support a guest worker program that rewards illegal aliens with blanket amnesty while ignoring the needs of American workers.

The numbers tell the story of illegal immigrants undercutting the American workforce with 25 million unemployed Americans and an estimated 8 million illegal immigrants currently in our country. Amnesty won't help fix this problem; it would actually encourage more illegal immigrants to enter out country. In a new report, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) found that an amnesty policy would undermine the interests of American workers. At a time when nationwide unemployment rate lingers near 10 percent this would be bad policy. We must take steps to provide hardworking Americans with job opportunities to provide for their families, and that's why I joined the Reclaim American Jobs Caucus.

thumbnailThis bipartisan group will work to highlight the link between illegal immigration and record unemployment in the United States. It will also focus on putting millions of Americans back to work by enforcing our current immigration laws, encouraging employers to use E-Verify worksite enforcement, a government program for employers to use to ensure their new hires have the legal right to work in the U.S., as well as securing our borders.

Illegal immigration isn't just an issue for border states, it's an issue that is impacting states all across the country. Amnesty would be an insult to hardworking unemployed Americans. We need to enforce existing laws and if anyone deserves an advantage, it's the American worker.

In Case You Missed It

thumbnailCongressman Boozman voted against the Obama-Pelosi-Reid health care legislation. Since then he's cosponsored H.R. 4903 to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and he also signed The Club for Growth pledge to repeal the legislation. He understands that Americans want commonsense reforms that don't cost $1 trillion dollars, raise taxes or cut Medicare programs. Congressman Boozman also sent a letter to Attorney General Dustin McDaniel urging Arkansas to join lawsuits against the federal government over the constitutionality of the health care overhaul legislation. Read the letter by clicking here.

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