With anywhere between 12 and 20 million illegal aliens in the United States, the federal government's reluctance to remove illegal aliens already in custody from the country is appalling. We must do all we can to enforce the immigration laws already on the books, as well as provide state and local governments the tools they need to assist the federal government with enforcing immigration laws.

Prioritizing border security and enforcement is urgently necessary in order to maintain national security, protect U.S. jobs and preserve the legal immigration process for those who abide by existing immigration laws.

Legislative efforts cosponsored by Rep. Emerson

H.R. 2406 - The CLEAR Act - Grants the authority for state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration law, create additional detention facilities to increase the capacity to detain illegal aliens, and create a database of known immigration law violators to better assist law enforcement officers with the apprehension of illegal aliens. The legislation would also deny federal funds to municipalities that act as safe havens for illegal aliens by refusing to check the immigration status of individuals in custody.

H.R. 3308 - The SAVE Act - Directly address the significant problems associated with the lack of enforcement of our immigration policies. Specifically, the legislation would increase the number of border patrol agents, improve border surveillance, make employee verification mandatory for employers, and enhance law-enforcement capabilities.

Disaster/earthquake preparedness

The New Madrid Seismic Zone poses unique challenges to our entire region. Our local communities must be fully prepared at all times for the worst case scenario. At the federal level, I’ve taken the task of elevating preparedness in the New Madrid Seismic Zone to the status of national priority. We are having some success, and major preparedness exercises will take place in the New Madrid Seismic Zone over the next several years.

Actions taken by Representative Emerson

Rep. Emerson has led efforts to raise awareness to the potential dangers posed by an earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. She has worked closely with all levels of government -- state, federal, and local emergency management officials and experts -- to coordinate response and recovery preparedness.

Rep. Emerson worked with the Department of Homeland Security to conduct emergency response exercises in our region to make sure our region is adequately prepared before an earthquake, flood or other natural disaster occurs.

Advocated extricating FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and make it an independent agency with Cabinet-level status. FEMA is a responsive agency while others under DHS are preventative.

Links of Interest

U.S Army: http://www.army.mil/
U.S. Air Force: http://www.af.mil/
U.S. Marine Corps: http://www.marines.mil/
U.S. Navy: http://www.navy.mil/
U.S. Coast Guard: http://www.uscg.mil/
Missouri National Guard: http://www.moguard.com