Immigration Bills

H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act, would strengthen border enforcement through increased personnel and infrastructure (including border fencing); would encourage involvement of state and local law enforcement agencies in – and provide appropriate reimbursement to those agencies for – immigration enforcement; would authorize coordinated border surveillance efforts between DHS and DOD; would eliminate the visa lottery; and would require completion of all background checks prior to the granting of any legal immigration status.

H.R. 4240, the Secure America Act, would increase border control by permitting the use of the Army and Air Force to secure the border and increase interior enforcement by increasing criminal fines and penalties for alien smuggling and by authorizing DHS to deny admission to aliens from countries that refuse to accept return of their nationals who are removed by the United States.

H.R. 4044, the Rapid Response Border Protection Act, would increase border patrol efforts by providing for additional border patrol agents, additional border patrol equipment and training facilities, incentives for careers in the Border Patrol, and deployment of border patrol agents to states where a border security state of emergency has been declared. It would also increase interior enforcement by providing for additional immigration inspectors, additional immigration enforcement agents, and additional detention beds.

H.R. 3137, the CLEAR Act, would bring our 700,000 state and local law officers on the beat with respect to immigration crimes and allow local law enforcement officials to detain and process illegal aliens, thus increasing interior enforcement. Of the many provisions of the CLEAR Act, some of the most important provide for: training on local officers in immigration law enforcement, increased in formation sharing regarding violations of immigration law among various law enforcement agencies, and additional resources to local law enforcement and Homeland Security.

H.R. 2933, the Alien Gang Removal Act, would prohibit members of violent criminal gangs from receiving Temporary Protected Status and make aliens who are members of violent criminal gangs inadmissible and deportable.