Congressman Hudson's Weekly E-Newsletter: Border Security First
Statement
Friends,
Two weeks ago, Senate Democrats passed their version of an immigration reform bill that would grant amnesty now in return for a promise of border security later. Their priorities could not be more backward.
With at least 11 million undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States, it's obvious our current immigration system is broken, our enforcement is lacking, and our policies need reformed. We must secure our border, improve interior enforcement, streamline legal immigration, and modernize our visa system to meet the needs of our economy.
For a hurried two months, the Senate debated a comprehensive immigration reform proposal that seeks to fix all the country's immigration problems at once. In my view, the bill is inadequate, unfair, and unworkable. The Senate bill grants amnesty now, in return for a promise of border security later. We cannot continue to have an immigration system that encourages people to break our laws while punishing those who want to follow them. To make matters worse, the Senate-passed legislation is over 1,000 pages, which reportedly not all the Senators have read, and provides no way for the American people to be sure of what it does. (Remember when Nancy Pelosi said we needed to pass Obamacare to find out what was in it? We can't let that happen again.)
For the Senate's immigration bill to actually become law, all that's needed is a compliant House of Representatives. Fortunately, House Republicans have already declared the bill dead upon arrival. I believe the only way to properly reform our immigration system is through an incremental, step-by-step approach that ensures reforms are implemented in the proper order and significant progress is being made on each one. Immigration reform is not a race. This is a complex problem that we need to get right. It is important that we thoroughly examine each aspect of our immigration laws to ensure that the end result of this process is a real, workable solution. We cannot repeat the mistakes made in 1986 where we got amnesty and no enforcement.
Any effort to fix our immigration system must first start by securing our borders. Without enhanced, effective, ongoing border security, all other reforms will fail. I am a co-sponsor of the Border Security Results Act of 2013 which requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a comprehensive strategy to gain and maintain situational awareness and operational control of the border, with the goal of achieving operational control within two years and nine months of enactment. No discussion of resolutions for undocumented workers should be forged until border security is in place and real immigration enforcement established. Only after that is achieved can we move forward on comprehensive immigration reform. The Border Security Results Act has already passed the Homeland Security Committee and I look forward to it being brought to the House floor.
In addition to the Homeland Security Committee's work on border security, the Judiciary Committee (who has jurisdiction over immigration) has passed four separate immigration-related bills to address local enforcement, farm workers, electronic verification, and high-skilled visas. Part of staying competitive is making sure that we're attracting the best and brightest people from around the world. That's the American tradition. The individual reforms passed by the Judiciary Committee will do that by contributing to the American economy and enriching hardworking Americans.
While I am disturbed by the reform bill that moved through the Senate, I remain confident that Congress can and should make significant progress on fixing our immigration system. Taking immigration reform one step at a time makes an open and transparent process more likely and I will be sure to communicate with you as the House moves forward with our own legislation. As always, I welcome your thoughts on this and any other issues.
Until next week,
Richard Hudson
Member of Congress (NC-08)
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