In 2011, I was a co-sponsor of Georgia’s tough anti-illegal immigration bill (HB 87), and as Georgia House Majority Whip worked with my colleagues for its successful passage. With this experience, I recognize numerous flaws in the U.S. Senate’s immigration proposal with the four most prominent being the following:
1. The start of real reform on immigration is simple — Secure the Border! The declarations of future action offered in the Senate bill ring hollow because of the numerous previous broken promises of beefed-up border security. Therefore, any proposal must require periodic Congressional review and approval to assure that today’s promises finally become reality.
2. We should oppose a pathway to citizenship for anyone who willingly and knowingly comes into our country illegally. Amnesty tramples on the rule of law, is unfair to those who play by the rules and wait to immigrate legally, and will only encourage more illegal immigration. We tried amnesty in 1986 when we had less than an estimated 3 million illegal immigrants eligible. The result? Today we have over 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.
3. The Senate bill will likely impose an enormous financial burden on states and local governments. The nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislators stated: “[S]tates are disappointed that the [Senate] bill does not include state impact aid. Without such aid, states and localities will be forced to carry a disproportionate share of the financial burden for immigrant population services, including education and public health costs.”
4. Immigration problems are in reality a series of very different and complex issues which require more than simply voting up or down on someone else’s prepackaged formula. There is a difference between a “comprehensive” bill that looks at a single issue from multiple angles and a hodgepodge proposal that simply lumps very different issues together into one grab bag. This bill is clearly the latter and should be scrapped.
In addition to border security, we must also deal with the problem of illegal immigration internally by mandating an E-verify system for employers which is at least as tough as the one we require in Georgia under HB 87. We must also put into place a visa program that properly tracks individuals who enter our country legally but then overstay their visits, and enhance the authority of state and local law enforcement in dealing with illegal immigration and the criminal fallout that can occur in their communities.
Once these concerns are addressed and in place, other issues and concerns on regulating legal immigration can be tackled such as managing a workable migrant farm workers program, dealing with student visas and public and military service considerations for worthy young immigrants, and addressing foreign high-tech specialists’ work visas.
In conclusion, the flawed Senate proposal allows for hidden harms and unexpected consequences that will not benefit the American people. The U.S. House should adopt a “one issue, one bill” approach which addresses illegal immigration first followed by legal immigration concerns.
