[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 239 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 239

   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Administration should 
   rigorously enforce the laws of the United States to substantially 
    reduce illegal immigration and greatly improve border security.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 19, 2007

Mr. Sessions (for himself, Mr. DeMint, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. 
 Vitter) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Administration should 
   rigorously enforce the laws of the United States to substantially 
    reduce illegal immigration and greatly improve border security.

Whereas the President of the United States has the primary authority to employ 
        Federal Government resources to enforce Federal immigration laws;
Whereas an estimated 40 percent of the estimated 12,000,000 to 20,000,000 
        illegal immigrants in the United States have overstayed their 
        nonimmigrant visas;
Whereas the implementation of the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status 
        Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program would provide the Federal 
        Government with information about whether people who entered the country 
        on a short-term visa return to their countries of origin before such 
        visas expire;
Whereas the decision of the Department of the Treasury to allow financial 
        institutions to accept the Mexican matricula consular card as valid 
        identification for the purpose of opening bank accounts encourages 
        illegal immigrants to remain in the United States;
Whereas Federal Bureau of Investigation officials have testified under oath that 
        the matricula consular card ``is not a reliable form of identification, 
        due to the nonexistence of any means of verifying the true identity of 
        the card holder'' and because the card is so vulnerable to fraud and 
        forgery ``there are 2 major criminal threats posed by the cards, and 1 
        potential terrorist threat.'';
Whereas the current and previous Administrations have failed to enforce the 
        legally binding affidavits of support signed by sponsors of immigrants;
Whereas the lack of such enforcement sends a message to immigrants that they can 
        wrongfully take advantage of government benefits paid for by American 
        taxpayers;
Whereas 98 percent of illegal immigrants arrested along the international border 
        between the United States and Mexico between 2000 and 2005 were released 
        across the border without prosecution, and many of such illegal 
        immigrants were caught and released multiple times;
Whereas such a catch and return without prosecution policy encourages illegal 
        immigrants to keep trying to enter illegally and creates a revolving 
        door of illegal immigration;
Whereas the current and previous Administrations have largely ignored laws 
        enacted as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 that 
        impose fines on businesses that employ illegal workers;
Whereas in 2004, the Administration did not issue any final orders to employers 
        for hiring illegal immigrants;
Whereas in 2005, the Administration issued only 10 such final orders;
Whereas not enforcing employer sanctions encourages the hiring of illegal 
        immigrants and the easy availability of jobs acts as a magnet that 
        attracts illegal immigrants;
Whereas neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the Department of 
        Justice has filed suit to stop any of the 10 States that allow colleges 
        and universities to offer in-State tuition rates to illegal immigrants 
        in violation of section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 
        Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996;
Whereas such a policy unfairly burdens United States citizens because there are 
        fewer places for legal residents in those colleges or universities and 
        out-of-State students pay higher tuition than the tuition charged to 
        illegal immigrants;
Whereas in some judicial jurisdictions alien smugglers will not be prosecuted by 
        the United States Attorney's Office unless they are caught smuggling at 
        least 12 illegal immigrants;
Whereas such a policy acts as an incentive for smugglers to continue their trade 
        as long as they do not breach the arbitrary threshold for prosecution;
Whereas, as of June 2007, there are only 13,500 active border patrol agents, 
        which is 1,306 less than the number Congress required be in place by the 
        end of fiscal year 2007 under section 5202 of the Intelligence Reform 
        and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
Whereas more Border Patrol agents would help ensure effective control of the 
        international border between the United States and Mexico;
Whereas, as of June 2007, there are only 27,500 detention beds for holding 
        illegal immigrants, which is 15,944 less than the number Congress 
        required be in use by the end of fiscal year 2007 under section 5204 of 
        the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
Whereas additional detention beds would help ensure that all criminal aliens and 
        individuals apprehended while crossing the border illegally are detained 
        prior to prosecution and deportation;
Whereas, as of June 2007, there are only 5,571 immigration investigators, which 
        is less than the number Congress required be in place by the end of 
        fiscal year 2007 under section 5203 of the Intelligence Reform and 
        Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
Whereas additional investigators would help ensure that sufficient worksite 
        enforcement is performed to impose employer sanctions on those who hire 
        illegal immigrants;
Whereas the Secure Fence Act of 2006 requires that more than 700 miles of 
        fencing be built along the international border between the United 
        States and Mexico;
Whereas as of June 5, 2007, only 87 miles of fencing exists, even though such 
        fencing helps deter illegal border crossing;
Whereas the Department of Homeland Security may use expedited removal procedures 
        for any illegal immigrants who have not been admitted or paroled into 
        the United States and who have not affirmatively shown that they have 
        been inside the United States for 2 years;
Whereas the Department of Homeland Security only uses expedited removal 
        procedures for illegal immigrants who are apprehended within 100 miles 
        of the United States border and within 14 days of entry to the United 
        States even though wider use of expedited removal would help decrease 
        the number of appeals of removal orders which clog the Federal court 
        system;
Whereas the current Immigration Violators File in the National Crime Information 
        Center (NCIC) database is being underutilized and could be expanded so 
        that State and local law enforcement could help locate the more than 
        600,000 alien absconders living in the United States; and
Whereas the current illegal immigration crisis is a direct result of this and 
        previous Administrations failing to enforce or adequately enforce at 
        least 8 immigration laws passed by Congress and enacted by the current 
        and previous Administrations: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate believes that--
            (1) the Administration should--
                    (A) implement the entry and exit portions of the 
                United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator 
                Technology (US-VISIT) as required under the Illegal 
                Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 
                1996;
                    (B) reverse the United States Treasury Department 
                decision to allow financial institutions to accept the 
                Mexican matricula consular cards as valid 
                identification for the purpose of opening bank 
                accounts;
                    (C) enforce legally binding affidavits of support 
                signed by sponsors of immigrants;
                    (D) end the practice of catching illegal immigrants 
                at the border and returning them without prosecution;
                    (E) enforce the employer sanctions contained in the 
                Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986;
                    (F) enforce section 505 of the Illegal Immigration 
                Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which 
                prohibits in-State college tuition for illegal 
                immigrants;
                    (G) require prosecution of anyone caught smuggling 
                immigrants across the border regardless of how many 
                immigrants are being smuggled;
                    (H) increase the number of full-time border patrol 
                agents by at least 1,306 by the end of fiscal year 
                2007, as authorized by the Intelligence Reform and 
                Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
                    (I) increase the number of detention beds for 
                illegal immigrants by at least 15,944 by the end of 
                fiscal year 2007, as authorized under the Intelligence 
                Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
                    (J) increase the number of full-time immigration 
                investigators by at least 1,600 by the end of fiscal 
                year 2007, as authorized by the Intelligence Reform and 
                Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
                    (K) comply with the Secure Fence Act of 2006 by 
                building over 700 miles of fencing along the 
                international border between the United States and 
                Mexico;
                    (L) increase the use of expedited removal 
                procedures for all illegal immigrants eligible for 
                removal under United States immigration laws; and
                    (M) expand the Immigration Violators File in the 
                NCIC database to include information on aliens with 
                final orders of removal, aliens with expired voluntary 
                departure agreements, aliens whom Federal immigration 
                officers have confirmed are unlawfully present, and 
                aliens whose visas have been revoked; and
            (2) taking the steps set forth in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) will lead to a substantial reduction in illegal 
                immigration; and
                    (B) will greatly improve the border security of the 
                United States.
                                 <all>