Issue Position: Immigration

Issue Position

Values

According to the Department of Homeland Security, there are a total of nearly 11 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States. Allowing illegal immigrants to come into the United States and work here is unfair to law-abiding legal immigrants, undermines our national security, and encourages more illegal immigration.

One of our top priorities should be defending America's borders and enforcing our laws, not accommodating those who break them. We must start by identifying and combating the constant flow of illegal immigrants into our country.

Our immigration system is broken. I am aware of the impact illegal immigrants can have on our nation's economy and workforce. Federal law mandates that employers must only hire individuals who are eligible to legally work in the United States.

Actions

Supports the use of the E-Verify system. Federal law mandates that employers must only hire individuals who are eligible to legally work in the United States. The E-Verify system "compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility."

Supports the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011 (H.R. 3012), which would eliminate the per country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants and adjusts the limitations on family visas without increasing the total number of available visas. Effectively, this legislation would reduce the backlog of immigrant worker visa and encourages high-skilled immigrants who were educated in the United States to stay and help strengthen our economy. H.R. 3012 passed the House of Representatives on November 29, 2011, by a vote of 389 -- 15.

Source