Called for reform to student visa program. Congressman Forbes supported the Student Visa Reform Act, H.R.3120, to require that colleges and universities be accredited in order for such institutions to be able to host foreign students seeking to study in the U.S. on student “F” visas. By requiring that visas for foreign students seeking to attend colleges and universities in the U.S. only be granted when the student attends an accredited school, this bill will prevent illegitimate institutions from cheating foreign nationals who legitimately seek a bona fide education in the United States. In addition, this requirement will prevent colleges and universities from violating immigration law and potentially threatening our national security. This bill passed by voice vote.

Questioned DHS Secretary Napolitano on new immigration policy. On Thursday, July 19^th, during a Judiciary Committee hearing, Congressman Forbes questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on the Department’s newly announced immigration policy. On June 15th, the Secretary announced a new policy granting a two-year deferral from deportation to young people under the age of 30 who came to the United States before the age of 16. Additionally, individuals must demonstrate that they have continuously resided in the U.S. for five years, pose no criminal or security threat, and earned a high school diploma or equivalent, or were honorably discharged from the military. This policy – one that the President indicated last year that he could not impose via executive order – was unilaterally imposed by the Secretary through the Department of Homeland Security and in circumvention of Congress’ authority to enact the immigration laws of the United States.

Urged administration to keep border patrol stations open. Congressman Forbes joined fellow Members of the House Judiciary Committee in sending a letter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chief Aguilar in response to a recent announcement that nine border patrol stations in four states – Texas, California, Montana and Idaho - will close. The letter expresses concerns regarding border security and the ability of officials to enforce federal immigration laws. The letter further requests that the Chief abandon this plan, and if not, provide the analysis behind the decision to close the stations, including the date of deactivation for each station.

Required a comprehensive strategy to protect our borders. As a cosponsor, Congressman Forbes supported passage of H.R. 1299, the Secure Border Act of 2012. This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop and evaluate a comprehensive strategy to gain operational control of our nation’s 2,000-mile southwest border, as well as our 4,000-mile northern border. Specifically, the bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to produce a plan to gain control of the border within five years, taking into account staffing requirements and infrastructure, including pedestrian fencing, vehicle barriers, and sensors. This bill is an important step during a time when the DHS and the administration seem unwilling to tackle the challenge of effectively securing our nation’s borders. H.R. 1299 passed the House of Representatives by voice vote.

Established a Border Enforcement Task Force. Congressman Forbes supported passage of H.R. 915, the Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act, a bill that formally establishes a Border Enforcement Security Task Force or BEST program to coordinate efforts among federal, state and local law enforcement officials to protect U.S. border cities from crime along and across the international borders of the United States. The bill is named after Jaime Zapata, an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent who was killed in the line of duty while serving on a BEST team in Mexico in February of 2011. This bill passed the House of Representatives 391-2.

Held DOJ accountable for undermining state immigration enforcement laws.  Congressman Forbes is cosponsoring legislation, H.R. 3842, to deny federal funding for Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits against state immigration enforcement laws.  In 2012, the Department of Justice filed suits against Arizona to halt the state’s enforcement efforts, claiming state law SB 1070 preempted federal immigration law.  Since then, DOJ has entered into lawsuits against various other states.  Opponents of these lawsuits argue that the federal government should not stand in the way of state’s seeking to enforce their own laws in order to uphold the federal law and protect their own citizens. They further argue that states must be able to address this problem that the federal government has only neglected.  For this reason, Congressman Forbes is cosponsoring legislation to prohibit the Administration, including the DOJ and other agencies, from using federal funds to sue states over recently passed immigration laws. 

Urged the Supreme Court to uphold Arizona's immigration law.  Congressman Forbes signed an amicus curiae brief, or "friend of the court" brief, urging the Supreme Court to uphold several key provisions of Arizona's law targeting illegal immigration. Congressman Forbes urged the high court to reverse the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and contended that Arizona's S.B.1070 is constitutional because it mirrors federal immigration law and incorporates federal standards.  As other states consider similar laws to do the same, it is important that the Supreme Court put an end to any questions about the validity and constitutionality of the Arizona law.

Protected Virginia employers from job-destroying regulations.  Congressman Forbes supported the Fiscal Year 2012 omnibus appropriations bill, which prohibits the Department of Labor from proposing or implementing the controversial H-2B wage requirement rules.  In January 2011, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule revising how wages paid to H-2B workers are calculated.  At a time when companies are struggling to stay in business, this recalculation will cause all H-2B workers’ wages to substantially rise.  Many employers will be unable to pay these wages; as a result, they will be unable to hire these workers, their work will go undone, and significant revenues will be lost.  In short, this could lead to the loss of American jobs that are supported by H-2B workers.  In response, Congressman Forbes signed a letter to House Appropriators specifically requesting that language be included in the bill to prohibit the implementation of this job-destroying rule. 

Strengthened our nation’s border security.  Congressman Forbes supported the Fiscal Year 2012 omnibus appropriations bill, which made significant investments in improving our nation’s s border security.  The bill provided new funding for border security operations, intelligence activities and the acquisition of essential new tactical resources.  Passage of the omnibus appropriations bill means that our borders will now be protected by over 21,000 border patrol agents along with new tactical assets, stemming the tide of illegal immigration.

Fighting for Virginia Jobs. Congressman Forbes signed a letter to congressional appropriators requesting that they include language in upcoming funding measures to rescind misguided rulemakings put forth by the Department of Labor changing the H-2B visa program. In January 2011, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule revising how wages paid to H-2B workers are calculated. At a time when companies are struggling to stay in business, this recalculation will cause all H-2B workers’ wages to substantially rise. Many employers will be unable to pay these wages and as a result, they will be unable to hire these workers, their work will go undone, and significant revenues will be lost. Importantly, this could lead to the loss of Virginia jobs that are supported by H-2B workers.  Language was included in previous legislation to temporarily delay the implementation of the rules until January 1, 2012.  However,  the Department’s rules will soon go into effect unless the rules are rescinded.  A copy of the letter is available here.

Abolishing Child Tax Credits for Illegal Immigrants.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored legislation, the Child Tax Credit Integrity Preservation Act of 2011, H.R. 3444, which would require tax filers to provide a valid Social Security number to claim tax credits, such as child tax credits, when filing their tax returns.  This bill would effectively prevent illegal immigrants from claiming tax credits intended for law-abiding American taxpayers.  Under current law, the Internal Revenue Service allows individuals filing with an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) to access the child tax credit and the additional child tax credit, allowing those in the country illegally to receive the credits.  A similar requirement is already in place for the earned income credit.

Increased global economic competitiveness.  Congressman Forbes supported the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, H.R. 3012, a bill that would eliminate the per-country caps on employment-based green cards. Our current immigration system dictates that nationals from a single country cannot annually comprise more than 7% of the total number of employment-based immigrant visas. There is a growing consensus in the business community that there must be changes to our immigration system that allow U.S. based employers to attract and retain the world’s best and highly educated employees so that we can continue to compete in a global marketplace. Removing the antiquated per-country limits on employer-based visas is an important step in maintaining our competitiveness as a nation; H.R. 3012 could help alleviate the backlog of highly skilled workers who wish to work in the U.S. and engender growth in our economy.

Demanded accountability for federally-funded multilingual services.   Congressman Forbes cosponsored the Multilingual Services Accounting Act, H.R. 1715, which would require government agencies to account for all expenditures on multilingual services.  Such an accounting would end speculation about the cost of providing services in languages other than English by requiring government agencies to disclose these expenditures in their annual accountability reports.  Federal government agencies currently do not have to report how much money they spend to provide government services and publications in languages other than English.  This legislation fixes this problem by requiring that federal bureaucracies report multilingual expenditures in their annual reports to the Office of Management and Budget. Without this basic accounting information, the federal government has no way of knowing how much it spends to provide multilingual services.  Congressman Forbes continues to support English as the United States' official language and supports requiring all official public documents to be printed in English-only.
*The House Clerk has not yet added Congressman Forbes as a cosponsor online

Called on the Administration to enforce immigration laws.  Congressman Forbes joined 74 other members of the Immigration Reform Caucus in sending a letter to President Obama in regard to the recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announcement to bypass Congress and use prosecutorial discretion to achieve amnesty for individuals who are illegally residing in the U.S. The letter calls the Administration to task for implementing a policy akin to amnesty whereby individuals that meet certain criteria, such as enrollment in four year colleges and clean criminal records, will not be prosecuted and deported. In response to this unilateral action by DHS, Congressman Forbes also cosponsored of the HALT Act, a bill to end any current or planned administrative actions that will result in mass legalization of illegal immigrants and that imply immigration laws should not be fully enforced.  A copy of the letter to President Obama is available here.

Supported workplace enforcement of immigration law.  Congressman Forbes voted in the House Judiciary Committee to support the Legal Workforce Act, a bill that could open up millions of jobs for unemployed American workers by requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify.  Created 15 years ago, E-Verify allows employers to electronically verify that newly-hired employees are legally authorized to work in the United States.  Specifically, the Social Security numbers of new hires are checked against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records in order to eliminate fraudulent numbers and help ensure that new hires are genuinely eligible to work.  The program quickly confirms 99.5% of work-eligible employees. Both businesses and the American people overwhelmingly support E-Verify.  The Legal Workforce Act enjoys support from a broad coalition, including Numbers USA, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Restaurant Association, National Association of Home Builders, among many others. 
The bill was reported favorably to the House floor by a vote of 22-13.

Called on Supreme Court to hear Arizona's appeal to uphold its immigration law. Congressman Forbes joined 58 other Members of Congress and the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) in urging the Supreme Court to hear a case involving the Administration's challenge to several key provisions of Arizona's law targeting illegal immigration. In an amicus curiae brief, or "friend of the court" brief supporting Arizona's Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, Congressman Forbes urged the high court to reverse the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and contended that Arizona's S.B.1070 is constitutional because it mirrors federal immigration law and incorporates federal standards.  As other states consider similar laws to do the same, it is important that the Supreme Court take this case and put an end to any questions about the validity and constitutionality of the Arizona law.  A copy of the brief is available here.

Petitioned the President to enforce our immigration laws.  Congressman Forbes joined 73 other members of the bipartisan Immigration Reform Caucus in sending the President a letter to voice opposition to a recent announcement by the Department of Homeland Security of a change in policy to bypass Congress and use prosecutorial discretion to achieve amnesty for individuals who are illegally residing in the U.S.  The manner with which the Administration has introduced this policy not only robs the public of a thorough vetting, but it also fails to appreciate the negative consequences of this policy shift.  A copy of the letter is available here.

Ensuring American Jobs Go to American Citizens and Legal Immigrants.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored the Legal Workforce Act, H.R.2164, a bill that improves the E-Verify system and makes it mandatory for all U.S. employers.  E-Verify was created in 1996 to give businesses the ability to quickly, accurately, and easily ensure they are hiring workers legally. Through E-Verify, the Social Security numbers and alien identification numbers of new hires are checked against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases in order to help employers determine who is eligible to work in the U.S. The bill balances pro-enforcement goals with legitimate business concerns, which is why it has the support of NumbersUSA, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association and the National Association of Homebuilders.

Prevented 'Back-door' Attempts by the Administration to Grant Amnesty.  Congressman Forbes signed up as an original cosponsor of the “HALT (Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation) Act,"  which would stop any current or planned administrative actions that would result in mass legalization of illegal immigrants and that imply immigration law should not be fully enforced.  Just weeks ago, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – the agency that is responsible for removing illegal and criminal immigrants – issued a memo that could potentially make millions of deportable, illegal immigrants eligible for administrative amnesty. The memo was sent to the field telling agency officials how to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” such as granting deferred action, “deciding whom to stop, question, or arrest,” deciding “who to detain,” and “dismissing” a removal proceeding. The ICE memo ordered agency officials to consider factors such as pursuit of education or duration of time illegally in the United States.

Supported the issuance of visas to non-immigrant nurses for severely underserved areas.  In a Judiciary Committee markup hearing this week, Congressman Forbes voted to support H.R.1933, a bill to reauthorize a program that would issue 3-year visas to non-immigrant, foreign nurses to serve in one of 14 of the nation’s most underserved hospitals.  These hospitals often have trouble attracting American nurses to work there, and the hospitals are only eligible for the program after showing that they have attempted to attract and retain American nurses without success.  This bill passed the Committee by a voice vote and is awaiting consideration on the House floor.

Ensured visa security and improved interagency cooperation.  In a Judiciary Committee markup hearing this week, Congressman Forbes voted to support the Secure Visas Act, H.R.1741, which he is also cosponsoring.  This bill requires that visa security units, the nation’s first line of defense against terrorists entering the United States, are operational at all high-risk consular posts, including a number of posts in the Middle East.  It would also improve cooperation between the Departments of State and Homeland Security in issuing, reviewing, rejecting, and revoking visas.  Nineteen of the 9/11 hijackers successfully entered this country with valid visas obtained at consular posts overseas, and this bill seeks to ensure this threat to our nation’s security never occurs again.  The bill passed the Committee by a vote of  17-11 and is awaiting consideration on the House floor.

Strengthened border security and the safety of America's ports.  Congressman Forbes voted for H.R.2017, which fully funds the current border security force of 21,370 border patrol agents (as compared to 12,349 in 2006) while funding border protection fencing and infrastructure improvements by $510 million.  A recent GAO report points out that the U.S. Border Patrol has less than 44 percent of the southwest border under operational control and less than two percent of the northern border under control.  This bill funds air and marine operations to fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking and ensures that our nation’s new and expanded ports of entry will receive new Customs and Border Protection officers for security inspections and enforcement.

Ended health care subsidies for illegal aliens.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored the No Health Care Subsidies for Illegal Aliens Act of 2011, H.R.1822, which would require individuals who apply for subsidized insurance to submit a sworn statement attesting to the fact that they are in the U.S. legally and to show satisfactory documentary evidence that they are either a U.S. citizen or are in the country legally.  This bill would not affect those people who have a legal claim to subsidies through a health care exchange. While the health care reform law passed in 2010 forbids an individual from receiving subsidized health care if he or she is in the U.S. illegally, the enforcement mechanisms currently in place prove to be ineffective and easily circumvented.  For instance, current law does not even require individuals to show a photo I.D. when applying for health care subsidies, but merely requires them to provide a Social Security number, along with their name and date of birth, all of which can be easily forged.

Required the Administration to address border security.  Congressman Forbes is cosponsoring legislation to require the Administration to develop a strategy to gain operational control of the border.  Specifically, H.R.1299 will require the Secretary of Homeland Security to produce a plan to gain operational control of the border within five years, taking into account staffing requirements, infrastructure, including pedestrian fencing, vehicle barriers, use of unmanned aerial vehicles, technology, and sensors.  A recent GAO report points out that the U.S. Border Patrol has less than 44 percent of the southwest border under operational control and less than two percent of the northern border under control.  To make matters worse, border security efforts are stuck in neutral because this Administration has no plans to gain additional miles of border under operational control either this year or next.

Joined Reclaim American Jobs Caucus. Congressman Forbes joined the Reclaim American Jobs Caucus.  The purpose of this Caucus is to raise public awareness of the connection between illegal immigration and unemployment; exert pressure on the Administration to vigorously enforce the laws against the employment of illegal immigrants; work to implement legislation that will protect American jobs from the impact of illegal immigration, especially to make E-Verify mandatory; and work to defeat legislation that will put American jobs at risk from the impact of illegal immigration, especially to defeat amnesty.

Supported sensible immigration reform.  Congressman Forbes cosponsored H.R.692, which is a sensible step toward eliminating “chain migration,” expediting reunification of nuclear families (i.e., married couples and parents with their young children), and reducing the number of, and revising the calculation for, family-sponsored immigrant entrants. If enacted, the Nuclear Family Priority Act would implement one of the key recommendations of former Rep. Barbara Jordan, the chair of the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. The Jordan Commission found that America’s national interests would best be served by eliminating extended family-based immigration categories, and it urged that nuclear family members become the sole family-based priority.