As a Member of the House Judiciary Committee, I am firmly committed to being part of reforming our nation’s immigration laws. Immigration reform must start with securing our borders. We need to address the national security threat posed by terrorists and other criminals who cross our southern border by completing the construction of a fence along the most high-traffic border areas.
We must ensure that employers hire legal workers. Unfortunately, the easy availability of counterfeit documents has made it increasingly difficult for U.S. employers to verify the worker eligibility of applicants and employees. I supported the creation of E-Verify, which simplifies the process for an employer to determine employment eligibility. Since enacted, the free, instantaneous program has greatly benefited employers and employees alike —more than 800,000 employers nationwide participate in E-Verify.
Additionally, immigration laws already on the books need to be enforced. The United States must prioritize deportation of illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a criminal offense and stop federal funds from flowing to states or localities which do not enforce federal immigration laws or refuse to cooperate with immigration officials.
Most importantly, I oppose providing amnesty for illegal immigrants that would encourage future illegal immigration by retroactively rewarding illegal behavior and allowing those who have broken the law to receive billions in public benefits. This would encumber our current welfare system at every level of government, increase taxes for all Americans, and raid the Social Security trust fund of billions of dollars needed to pay for the retirement of U.S. citizens.