[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 23 (Monday, February 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S684-S685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. Roberts):
  S. 332. A bill to promote the enforcement of immigration laws and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce the 
Strengthening Our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America's 
Security Act. There is little doubt that our immigration system is 
broken and needs reform. Yet, we can make progress by starting with the 
laws that already exist. The proposed legislation would enhance our 
core immigration and enforcement laws for both legal and illegal 
immigrants.

[[Page S685]]

  When I first introduced my bill last September, I mentioned that it 
represents countless hours of conversation and feedback from my 
constituents. This bill is a common-sense approach on how best to 
enforce and tighten-up our immigration laws.
  Of course, securing the actual physical border should remain our top 
priority. However, we cannot ignore the residual problems caused by a 
porous border. The weakness of a porous border has been experienced by 
communities across the country--draining all facets of local resources, 
including public safety, welfare programs, and medical assistance.
  By no means is the proposed legislation intended to be a 
comprehensive immigration reform bill. Rather, it is focused on 
enforcement and accountability of existing immigration laws and 
programs. There is much that remains to be done before we can tackle 
comprehensive immigration reform. But this bill is the next step toward 
strengthening our immigration laws.
  The Strengthening Our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America's 
Security Act will curb identity theft and techniques that have been 
exploited by the illegal alien community; stop the abuse by this 
administration from granting mass parole or deferral to illegal aliens; 
help prevent Mexican drug cartels from growing marijuana in our 
national parks and on our public lands; and prevent so-called sanctuary 
cities by requiring law enforcement agencies that are selected and 
enrolled in the 287(g) and Secure Communities programs to fully comply 
with the established requirements.
  There is a need for accurate accounting to track the flow of federal 
and state welfare dollars given to illegal aliens and ensure that U.S. 
citizens are the first to receive Federal health benefits. 
Additionally, my bill would rectify a gaping hole in our visa system by 
requiring the Department of Homeland Security to create a mandatory 
visa exit procedure that would track the departure of our foreign 
visitors to the United States; provide that gang members will be 
ineligible to receive a visa for travel to our country; and direct the 
State Department to examine the Diversity Visa program, which in the 
past has been wrought with fraud and abuse.
  I do not think anyone could disagree with the substance of the 
Strengthening Our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America's 
Security Act. It touches on some of the more overlooked, but critical 
areas of our broken immigration system. Moreover, I believe these steps 
can be enacted in a bipartisan fashion without creating a host of new 
programs and revenue streams. I encourage my colleagues to work with me 
to move this bill forward.
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