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Immigration Enforcement Bills in the 110th Congress

The Issue

Our immigration system is broken, and Americans are increasingly frustrated that Washington seems unwilling or unable to do anything about it. Some in Congress have little to offer but slogans proclaiming their toughness on immigration. These members of Congress appeal to a loud minority of Americans who have denounced any attempt at fixing our immigration system as some sort of reward for lawbreakers. Their slogans are not solving problems. In fact, their slogans don't even appear to be good politics. Public opinion polling has consistently shown over the past two years that Americans are interested in a realistic solution-one that includes immigration enforcement but one that also gives undocumented workers a chance to stay here and to get on a path to citizenship. In the last couple of election cycles, politicians who favor harsh enforcement only have not done well at the polls.

Since the collapse of immigration reform legislation in the Senate in the 110th Congress, Republican members of Congress have, for the most part, abandoned efforts to get behind reform and have adopted an approach that seeks to more harshly enforce laws that have, over the last 20 years, failed to provide control over immigration to the U.S. They have rejected reality: that our system must be updated in order to provide sufficient legal opportunities for people to come and join their close family members or to work in the jobs Americans want them to do, but for which they cannot get proper papers.

The Legislation

  • Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement
    H.R. 4088, introduced by representatives Heath Shuler (D-NC), and (among others), Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO).
    S. 2368, introduced by Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and S. 2366, introduced by Senator David Vitter (R-LA).
    Among other things, this bill includes measures to increase border enforcement, mandate the use of the government's flawed SAVE/E-Verify worker verification database, increase the amount of immigration prison space, increase the number of interior enforcement agents, and other measures.
  • New Employee Verification Act
    H.R. 5515, introduced by representative Sam Johnson (R-TX).
    This bill would create a mandatory electronic employment verification system (EEVS) that would require all 7 million employers in the U.S. to query a federal government database to check the work authorization status of newly-hired employees.
  • Border Enforcement, Employment Verification, and Illegal Immigration Control Act
    H.R. 4056, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), who two years ago proposed a bill (H.R. 4437) that would have made working without papers a felony offense. The proposal spurred the largest street demonstrations this country has seen in many years. The 330-page H.R. 4065 is similar in many respects to H.R. 4437.
  • Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act
    S. 2294, introduced by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and co-sponsored by several Senators who had earlier in this session been leaders pressing for comprehensive immigration reform: John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Mel Martinez (R-FL). Among other things, the bill would make being out of status a misdemeanor criminal offense; it would require the entry of data on all "aliens illegally present" in the U.S. in the database routinely used by state and local police; it would require the detention of persons who overstay their visas by 30 days; it would expand the so-called "aggravated felony" definition; it would bar states and localities from prohibiting information sharing with federal authorities about immigration status; it would establish criminal penalties for immigrants using fraudulent social security numbers; it would permit information sharing between DHS and the Social Security Administration; and it would add another 14,000 Border Patrol agents.

Package of Senate anti-immigrant bills introduced early in 2008

  • Border Crossing Deterrence Act
    S. 2709, introduced by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), to establish minimum sentences for illegal entry. This bill would require the Justice Department and DHS to expand their "zero tolerance policy" to all border sectors by the end of 2009. It would require jail time of 10 to 364 days for the first instance of illegal entry, with stiffer penalties resulting from subsequent re-entries.
  • A bill to authorize the Department of Homeland Security to use an employer’s failure to timely resolve discrepancies with the Social Security Administration after receiving a ‘‘no match’’ notice as evidence that the employer violated section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act
    S. 2710, introduced by Senator Sessions, would authorize DHS to use Social Security "no match" letters as constructive evidence that an employer was aware that the company was employing unauthorized workers. (This would render moot the current litigation on this issue.)
  • Worksite Enforcement Act
    S. 2711, introduced by Senator Sessions, would mandate an Electronic Employment Verification System based on the existing, flawed voluntary process and require employers to terminate workers who cannot be confirmed as work authorized. Penalties for employing unauthorized workers would range from $5,000 to $75,000. The bill would authorize the hiring of 5,000 DHS officers to oversee and enforce the system.
  • Complete the Fence Act
    S. 2712, introduced by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), would require that the full 700 miles of border fence authorized by the Secure Fence Act of 2006 be completed by 2010, and specifies what kind of fencing is acceptable.
  • A bill to prohibit appropriated funds from being used in contravention of section 642(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
    S. 2713, introduced by Senator David Vitter (R-LA), will prohibit funds from being appropriated for Community Oriented Policing Services programs (COPS) in contravention of the section of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 that bars government entities or officials from prohibiting communication between government entities or officials and the immigration service.
  • A bill to close the loophole that allowed the 9/11 hijackers to obtain credit cards from United States banks that financed their terrorist activities, to ensure that illegal immigrants cannot obtain credit cards to evade United States immigration laws, and for other purposes
    S. 2714, introduced by Senator Vitter, who said that his bill "simply says that matricular consular cards issued by the Mexican Government to their citizens in this country…cannot be accepted by U.S. banks." The bill would specify that new accounts cannot be opened without a social security number, a passport number and country of issuance, or an alien identification number. Ironically, terrorists, such as the 9/11 hijackers, would still be able to open accounts, since they would be able to use their passport number.
  • National Language Act
    S. 2715, introduced by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), would make English the national language of the U.S., and state that there is no entitlement to receive documents and services from the government in any other language other than English.
  • A bill to authorize the National Guard to provide support for the border control activities of the United States Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes
    S. 2716, introduced by Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), would require that "Operation Jumpstart" (which has deployed 6,000 National Guard troops on the border) continue until the federal government gains "operational control" of the border.
  • Effective Immigration Enforcement Partnerships Act
    S. 2717, introduced by Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), would "clarify" that state and local police have authority to enforce federal immigration laws. It would limit the length of training for the 287(g) program (providing training for officers in immigration law enforcement) and provide for other (lesser) immigration enforcement training. It would mandate the inclusion in the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) information on any foreigner for whom a final order of removal has been issued, or who has agreed to voluntarily depart, or who as overstayed a visa or had a visa revoked.
  • A bill to withhold 10 percent of the Federal funding apportioned for highway construction and maintenance from States that issue driver’s licenses to individuals without verifying the legal status of such individuals
    S. 2718, introduced by Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), would require states to verify the social security number and/or immigration status of any applicant for a driver's license. States failing to do so would lose 10% of their highway funding.
  • A bill to provide that Executive Order 13166 shall have no force or effect, and to prohibit the use of funds for certain purposes
    S. 2719, introduced by Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), would nullify Executive Order 13166, issued during the Clinton Administration to improve access to federal programs for persons who are not proficient in English.
  • Safe Roads Enhancement Act
    S. 2722, introduced by Senator Dole, would make repeat drunk driving an "aggravated felony" regardless of its classification under state law. A single conviction for driving while intoxicated would make an individual inadmissible or removable.

Status

On March 11, 2008, House Republicans filed a discharge petition to force consideration of H.R. 4088, the Shuler/Tancredo SAVE Act. If the petition had gained 217 signatures, the bill would have been brought to the House floor for a vote. By the end of the 110th Congress, the discharge petition failed to gain a sufficient number of signatures. To find out who signed the discharge petition, click here.  None of the other bills mentioned above were acted on by the end of the Congressional session.

For More Information

Information about the Shuler/Tancredo Bill (SAVE Act) and other Worker Verification Bills

Information and Backgrounders on Employment Verification

Information about Senate Deportation Bills

General Information and Backgrounders on Immigration Enforcement

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