Immigration

We must balance the need to secure our borders to protect our citizens with the need for a legal channel for migration to bolster the economy in areas where we face shortages of qualified workers.
- Congressman C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger

Congressman Ruppersberger believes securing our borders is the first step toward a comprehensive fix to our broken immigration system. He:

• Voted for the construction of the border fence between the U.S. and Mexico and introduced legislation to add 10,000 new border patrol agents.
• Supports U.S. assistance to Mexico to end drug-related violence along the southwest border.
• Supports the rights of border states to defend themselves.
• Supports expanding a program to find and deport felons in our overcrowded prison-system who are illegal immigrants.

Congressman Ruppersberger fought to pass $600 million in emergency appropriations to secure our borders by fighting violent drug cartels and illegal immigration. The bill:

• Funds about 1,500 new border patrol agents, two new unmanned aerial drones to monitor the border and the expansion of the U.S. Marshals in Mexico.
• Funds local law enforcement activities along the border and campaigns to target drug and firearms trafficking.
• Is paid for by increasing Visa fees on foreign companies that bring their workers into the U.S.

Congressman Ruppersberger believes American jobs should be reserved for Americans. He:

• Supports businesses that rely on temporary legal immigrants that come into the country on a time-limited Visa to provide the workforce necessary to keep our economy growing in areas where we have a shortage of qualified workers, such as Maryland’s annual crab harvesters.
• Supports targeting and penalizing employers who don’t play by the rules and knowingly hire and exploit illegal immigrants.
• Supports the government-verification system known as e-Verify so businesses have a straight-forward method to determine the legal status of their workforce.