Immigration Bills

H.R. 1417, the Border Security Results Act of 2013, addresses border security, but does little to guarantee an actual border security results. Rather than require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to gain control of U.S. Borders, this act merely requires the Secretary to submit a plan to gain operational control of only the southern borders within 5 years. Operational control is met when the DHS determines that it has apprehended and turned back at least 90% of those who try to enter the U.S. illegally.

S. 422, Secure Border Crossing Card Entry Act of 2007, would have established parity between Mexican nationals visiting the United States who possessed a valid biometric Border Crossing Card (BCC, also known as a laser visa) and have completed the necessary security checks, and Canadian visitors by allowing BCC bearers to remain in the United States for six months (Mexican nationals with BCCs may only stay in the United States for 30 days, while Canadians possessing tourist visas may stay up to one year).

S. 342, Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Act, would have required DHS to establish a pilot program to expand the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) (which now allows citizens of 27 countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, and has provided easy entry for terrorists and created a black market for stolen or forged passports). It would have added five more countries to the program, and would have allowed such a country's participation in the VWP for three years, with one two-year extension possible.

S. 455, the ACTION Act, would expedite and expand the processing of student visas, loosening some of the requirements for background checks and thus making it easier for foreign students to enter the country legally and remain in the country illegally.