Patrick McHenry

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Immigration/Border Security

Illegal immigration threatens both our national security and and economic security. North Carolina has one of the highest populations of illegal immigrants in the country. Social services such as health care and education for illegal immigrants cost North Carolina taxpayers millions of dollars every year.

In 2007, Patrick McHenry led the charge in the House of Representatives to defeat a bill that would have granted amnesty to 18 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. The Congressman is an original co-sponsor of the bipartisan SAVE Act, a plan that secures our borders with 8,000 new border patrol agents and increased aerial and satellite border surveillance.

In 2005, his first year in Congress, Patrick McHenry supported an immigration reform bill that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Among other provisions, the bill calls for the construction of a security fence along our southern border, streamlines federal and local law enforcement cooperation on immigration matters and helps protect American workers by mandating an instant check system for businesses to verify the legal status of their employees.

The Congressman introduced legislation in November 2005 titled the Comprehensive Immigration Data and Technology Accountability Act of 2005 (Comprehensive Immigration D.A.T.A. Act). This bill creates a comprehensive computerized database to more effectively and efficiently track immigrants applying for visas or U.S. citizenship.