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| Center on Immigration PolicyThe issues: Immigration Legislation H.R. 4437, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), was passed in the House of Representatives on December 16, 2005, during the House's final week in session. The legislation still needs to be passed in the Senate and sent back to the House before it can be written into law by President George Bush. The legislation is a multi-step approach to immigration policy that aims to increase border security and punish undocumented immigrants residing in the United States. Among its many provisions this legislation calls for the construction of a 698-mile wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and charges undocumented immigrants with a felony, rather than a civil offense, for being in the United States. A third component would make assisting, encouraging or directing any undocumented immigrants a criminal offense. John Boehner (R-OH) became the new House Majority Leader, replacing Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), despite concerns voiced by many Republicans following his vote against House Bill 4437. Boehner was one of 17 republicans who voted against the legislation (which passed anyway in the House by a vote of 239-182 on 12/16/05). Boehner received criticism from many House Republicans, including Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), who said, "I know how he feels about the issue -- he is absolutely opposed to what we are trying to accomplish." “We can’t strengthen our nation’s borders by strangling our nation’s economy,” Boehner said, following the vote. Boehner claimed to fully support the House Bill but cited one section which called for employers to reverify all employees through a government database. Boehner, defending small businesses, said, “The vast majority of America’s several million employers are law abiding and should not be burdened with another cumbersome federal mandate.” The Senate is expected to discuss the legislation in February and it is unlikely that the immigration and border security bill will be passed without the addition of a guest-worker program in some form. Such a program is necessary for labor-intensive industries (such as construction and agriculture) which would be left scrambling to fill hard labor, low wage jobs. Hopefully Congress, with Boehner at the helm, can reach a bipartisan agreement to increase border security without slowing the economy. -Jarrett Moreno (Morenoj@kenyon.edu) Please contact Jarrett Moreno, (MorenoJ@kenyon.edu) for questions with KCRI Center on Immigration Policy. Group members: |
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