Shuler to Reintroduce SAVE Act this Month

Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) is putting the final touches on this year’s SAVE Act, which he plans to introduce in Congress within the next few weeks. Shuler first sponsored the legislation during the last Congressional session, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept it off the floor, and the attempt at a discharge petition fell short by 28 signatures.

The SAVE Act (Secure America through Verification and Enforcement) is a three-pronged approach aimed at attrition through enforcement. The bill requires stronger border security, mandatory nationwide use of E-Verify and stronger interior enforcement. Rep. Shuler announced his intentions to reintroduce the bill at the office of Progressives for Immigration Reform where he emphasized interior enforcement, including E-Verify.

“This is not about discrimination because E-Verify is activated after someone has been hired. This helps to ensure that local officials can identify who they arrest. Interior enforcement is crucial,” Shuler was quoted as saying in a Washington Examiner article.

Approaching immigration reform from an enforcement angle has been more of the Republican approach, but the purpose of the Progressives for Immigration Reform is to bring more Democratic Representatives to the table.

“We started this organization because we wanted to bring in more liberals on the side of tighter enforcement. There is a lot of concern about the impact mass immigration will have on the environment. In fact, there is a natural marriage here between immigration reform and environmental preservation. So we can have people across the political spectrum,” Executive Director Leah Durant said.

For more information, see the Washington Examiner.