As bipartisan negotiations continued on Capitol Hill on a possible legislative deal to shield hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant "Dreamers" from deportation, Republicans on Wednesday rolled out their own bill, chock full of changes to federal immigration law, including tougher rules for businesses which hire workers who are not legally in the United States.
"This bill funds the border wall," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. "Our bill ends chain migration and the visa lottery program."
"It cracks down on sanctuary cities, increases criminal penalties for deported criminals who illegally return, and makes the E-Verify program mandatory to help insure employers hire only legal workers," Goodlatte added.
"I think this bill embodies the four main pillars that we came to an agreement on at the White House," said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee.
The GOP provisions on DACA would not put "Dreamers" on a pathway to U.S. citizenship, but would rather grant them "contingent non-immigrant status," to allow them to stay legally in the United States.
To be eligible, that younger illegal immigrant had to be in the United States before June 15, 2007, and have been younger than 16 years old at the time of their arrival in the U.S.
Those who apply for that non-immigrant status would have to pay the feds $1,000 and fulfill a series of requirements, ranging from graduation from high school to a lack of serious criminal offenses and more.
As for the President, he made clear again on Wednesday that any effort in Congress to deal with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program - DACA - would need to include money for a wall along the border with Mexico.
"It’s got to include the wall," the President said at a joint news conference with the Prime Minister of Norway. "We need the wall for security. We need the wall for safety."
But there were rumblings of discontent from some more conservative Republicans in the Congress, who want the President to press for extra immigration enforcement, but not give in on the DACA issue.
"Congress and President Trump cannot legalize DACA without sacrificing the Rule of Law and broadcasting a call to come to America to be here for the next amnesty," tweeted Rep. Steve King (R-IA).
As for other provisions in the new GOP immigration bill, the plan:
+ Includes a series of reforms to legal immigration
- Reduces the overall level of legal immigration
- Reforms in the H2C temporary farm worker visa program
- Makes visa security reforms
- Interior immigration enforcement
- Punishes so-called "Sanctuary cities"
- Has tougher provisions on Criminal aliens who return to the U.S.
- Asylum reforms
- Changes in law dealing with how unaccompanied children apprehended along the border are dealt with.
The breadth of the GOP plan all but insures that it will draw opposition from Democrats, who favor a bill that only deals with DACA.
If you don't want to read the bill, then here's the table of contents for the GOP legislation:
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DIVISION A—LEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM
TITLE I—IMMIGRANT VISA ALLOCATIONS AND PRIORITIES
Sec. 1101. Family-sponsored immigration priorities.
Sec. 1102. Elimination of diversity visa program.
Sec. 1103. Employment-based immigration priorities.
Sec. 1104. Waiver of rights by B visa nonimmigrants.
TITLE II—AGRICULTURAL WORKER REFORM
Sec. 2101. Short title.
Sec. 2102. H–2C temporary agricultural work visa program.
Sec. 2103. Admission of temporary H–2C workers.
Sec. 2104. Mediation.
Sec. 2105. Migrant and seasonal agricultural worker protection.
Sec. 2106. Binding arbitration.
Sec. 2107. Eligibility for health care subsidies and refundable tax credits; required health insurance coverage.
Sec. 2108. Study of establishment of an agricultural worker employment pool.
Sec. 2109. Prevailing wage.
Sec. 2110. Effective dates; sunset; regulations.
Sec. 2111. Report on compliance and violations.
TITLE III—VISA SECURITY
Sec. 3101. Cancellation of additional visas.
Sec. 3102. Visa information sharing.
Sec. 3103. Restricting waiver of visa interviews.
Sec. 3104. Authorizing the Department of State to not interview certain ineligible visa applicants.
Sec. 3105. Visa refusal and revocation.
Sec. 3106. Petition and application processing for visas and immigration benefits.
Sec. 3107. Fraud prevention.
Sec. 3108. Visa ineligibility for spouses and children of drug traffickers.
Sec. 3109. DNA testing.
Sec. 3110. Access to NCIC criminal history database for diplomatic visas.
Sec. 3111. Elimination of signed photograph requirement for visa applications.
Sec. 3112. Additional fraud detection and prevention.
DIVISION B—INTERIOR IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT TITLE I—LEGAL WORKFORCE ACT
Sec. 1101. Short title.
Sec. 1102. Employment eligibility verification process.
Sec. 1103. Employment eligibility verification system.
Sec. 1104. Recruitment, referral, and continuation of employment.
Sec. 1105. Good faith defense.
Sec. 1106. Preemption and States’ Rights.
Sec. 1107. Repeal.
Sec. 1108. Penalties.
Sec. 1109. Fraud and misuse of documents.
Sec. 1110. Protection of Social Security Administration programs.
Sec. 1111. Fraud prevention.
Sec. 1112. Use of Employment Eligibility Verification Photo Tool.
Sec. 1113. Identity authentication employment eligibility verification pilot programs.
Sec. 1114. Inspector General audits.
TITLE II—SANCTUARY CITIES AND STATE AND LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION
Sec. 2201. Short title.
Sec. 2202. State noncompliance with enforcement of immigration law.
Sec. 2203. Clarifying the authority of ice detainers.
Sec. 2204. Sarah and Grant’s law.
Sec. 2205. Clarification of congressional intent.
Sec. 2206. Penalties for illegal entry or presence.
TITLE III—CRIMINAL ALIENS
Sec. 3301. Precluding admissibility of aliens convicted of aggravated felonies or other serious offenses.
Sec. 3302. Increased penalties barring the admission of convicted sex offenders
failing to register and requiring deportation of sex offenders failing to register.
Sec. 3303. Grounds of inadmissibility and deportability for alien gang members.
Sec. 3304. Inadmissibility and deportability of drunk drivers.
Sec. 3305. Definition of aggravated felony.
Sec. 3306. Precluding withholding of removal for aggravated felons.
Sec. 3307. Protecting immigrants from convicted sex offenders.
Sec. 3308. Clarification to crimes of violence and crimes involving moral turpitude.
Sec. 3309. Detention of dangerous aliens.
Sec. 3310. Timely repatriation.
Sec. 3311. Illegal reentry.
TITLE IV—ASYLUM REFORM
Sec. 4401. Clarification of intent regarding taxpayer-provided counsel.
Sec. 4402. Credible fear interviews.
Sec. 4403. Recording expedited removal and credible fear interviews.
Sec. 4404. Safe third country.
Sec. 4405. Renunciation of Asylum Status Pursuant to Return to Home Country.
Sec. 4406. Notice concerning frivolous asylum applications.
Sec. 4407. Anti-fraud investigative work product.
Sec. 4408. Penalties for asylum fraud.
Sec. 4409. Statute of limitations for asylum fraud.
Sec. 4410. Technical amendments.
TITLE V—UNACCOMPANIED AND ACCOMPANIED ALIEN MINORS APPREHENDED ALONG THE BORDER
Sec. 5501. Repatriation of unaccompanied alien children.
Sec. 5502. Special immigrant juvenile status for immigrants unable to reunite with either parent.
Sec. 5503. Jurisdiction of asylum applications.
Sec. 5504. Quarterly report to Congress.
Sec. 5505. Biannual report to Congress.
Sec. 5506. Clarification of standards for family detention.
DIVISION C—BORDER ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 1100. Short title.
TITLE I—BORDER SECURITY
Sec. 1101. Definitions.
Subtitle A—Infrastructure and Equipment
Sec. 1111. Strengthening the requirements for barriers along the southern border.
Sec. 1112. Air and Marine Operations flight hours.
Sec. 1113. Capability deployment to specific sectors and transit zone.
Sec. 1114. U.S. Border Patrol activities.
Sec. 1115. Border security technology program management.
Sec. 1116. Reimbursement of States for deployment of the National Guard at the southern border.
Sec. 1117. National Guard support to secure the southern border.
Sec. 1118. Prohibitions on actions that impede border security on certain Federal land.
Sec. 1119. Landowner and rancher security enhancement.
Sec. 1120. Eradication of carrizo cane and salt cedar.
Sec. 1121. Southern border threat analysis.
Sec. 1122. Amendments to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Sec. 1123. Agent and officer technology use.
Sec. 1124. Integrated Border Enforcement Teams.
Sec. 1125. Tunnel Task Forces.
Sec. 1126. Pilot program on use of electromagnetic spectrum in support of border security operations.
Sec. 1127. Homeland security foreign assistance.
Subtitle B—Personnel
Sec. 1131. Additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers.
Sec. 1132. U.S. Customs and Border Protection retention incentives.
Sec. 1133. Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act.
Sec. 1134. Training for officers and agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Subtitle C—Grants
Sec. 1141. Operation Stonegarden.
Subtitle D—Authorization of Appropriations
Sec. 1151. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE II—EMERGENCY PORT OF ENTRY PERSONNEL AND INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING
Sec. 2101. Ports of entry infrastructure.
Sec. 2102. Secure communications.
Sec. 2103. Border security deployment program.
Sec. 2104. Pilot and upgrade of license plate readers at ports of entry.
Sec. 2105. Non-intrusive inspection operational demonstration.
Sec. 2106. Biometric exit data system.
Sec. 2107. Sense of Congress on cooperation between agencies.
Sec. 2108. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 2109. Definition.
TITLE III—VISA SECURITY AND INTEGRITY
Sec. 3101. Visa security.
Sec. 3102. Electronic passport screening and biometric matching.
Sec. 3103. Reporting of visa overstays.
Sec. 3104. Student and exchange visitor information system verification.
Sec. 3105. Social media review of visa applicants.
TITLE IV—TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION ILLICIT SPOTTER PREVENTION AND ELIMINATION
Sec. 4101. Short title.
Sec. 4102. Unlawfully hindering immigration, border, and customs controls.
DIVISION D—LAWFUL STATUS FOR CERTAIN CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS
Sec. 1101. Definitions.
Sec. 1102. Contingent nonimmigrant status for certain aliens who entered the
United States as minors.
Sec. 1103. Administrative and judicial review.
Sec. 1104. Penalties and signature requirements.
Sec. 1105. Rulemaking.
Sec. 1106. Statutory construction
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