Immigration Bills

The bill would close certain loopholes exploited by companies who use H-2B unskilled labor visas instead of recruiting from the existing workforce. Specifically, it would require the Department of Labor to certify that prospective H-2B employers conduct a robust recruitment drive to find available United States workers, including advertising at job fairs, advertising with state and local recruitment agencies and nonprofit organizations, and advertising on local radio and the Internet.

The bill would prohibit federal funding from being used to challenge state laws that facilitate the enforcement of federal immigration laws including: the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007; Missouri House Bill 390; Arizona’s Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB 1070); Utah’s Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act; Indiana Senate Enrolled Act No. 590; the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act; South Carolina Act No. 69; Georgia’s Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011; and Indiana’s HB 1402.

The bill would require each state and their local law enforcement agencies to collect and report all immigration and DWI-related information as a prerequisite for receiving State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP, a program that provides assistance to states for the incarceration of illegal aliens) funding. DWI-related information would then appear as a flag on the wants/warrants page of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.

S. 2005, the Irish Immigration Recognition and Encouragement Act, would expand the E-3 visa category to include up to 10,500 Irish nationals each year. As the Obama administration has a stated policy of waiving inadmissibility requirements for illegal aliens, and because this bill does not prevent the administration from doing so, this bill acts as a de facto amnesty for illegal Irish aliens in the United States.

S. 1965, the Startup Act of 2011, would create 50,000 new STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) visas for foreign students who graduate from a U.S. college with a master's degree or a Ph.D. The bill also creates a new visa program for 75,000 new immigrant "entrepreneurs" -- individuals who already hold an H-1B visa and would be allowed 3 extra years to remain in the U.S. and operate a new business.