| Usually supports less immigration, less population growth, less foreign labor. |
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Each symbol in the left-hand column below
signifies an action for HIGHER immigration. |
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Each symbol in the right-hand column
below signifies an action for LOWER immigration. |
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H.R. 2305, the bipartisan Security and Fairness Enhancement for America (SAFE) Act of 2009. H.R. 2305 would eliminate the visa lottery. This is a program that each year gives another 50,000 green cards to people without any regard to their humanitarian need or to what they might offer the country or to their having any family connections in the United States. It is a program that promotes massive illegal migration by people who think they may some day win the lottery and be allowed to stay in the United States. The bi-partisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform under the leadership of the late Barbara Jordan recommended eliminating the visa lottery.
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of the Nuclear Family Priority Act, H.R. 878. The current annual limits on greencards are 65,000 adult brothers and sisters, 23,400 married sons and daughters and 23,400 unmarried adult sons and daughters. H.R. 878 would eliminate all three categories and not provide an increase in any other category, thereby directly decreasing overall immigration by 111,800 per year (1.118 million a decade). This would indirectly reduce the numbers by even more over time as there would be fewer recent immigrants who are the ones most likely to bring people into the country as spouses or parents of U.S. citizens.
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H.R. 1430, the bipartisan Security and Fairness Enhancement for America (SAFE) Act of 2007. H.R. 1430 would eliminate the visa lottery. This is a program that each year gives another 50,000 green cards to people without any regard to their humanitarian need or to what they might offer the country or to their having any family connections in the United States. It is a program that promotes massive illegal migration by people who think they may some day win the lottery and be allowed to stay in the United States. The bi-partisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform under the leadership of the late Barbara Jordan recommended eliminating the visa lottery. This legislation was passed by a broad majority of bipartisan Members in the 109th Congress (273 - 148) as an amendment to H.R. 4437.
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Rep. Bilbray voted against the Chrysler-Berman Amendment to H.R.2202. For Americans who want to bring immigration back down toward traditional levels, that vote was the most important one cast since 1990. Total annual immigration had snowballed from less than 300,000 in 1965 to around a million today primarily because of provisions allowing immigrants to send for their adult relatives. Then each of those relatives can send for their and their spouse's adult relatives, creating a never-ending and ever-growing chain. The bi-partisan Barbara Jordan Commission recommended doing away with the adult relative categories (begun only in the 1950s) in order to lessen wage depression among lower-paid American workers. Rep. Bilbray agreed with the Jordan Commission. The House Judiciary Committee responded with H.R.2202 which would have effectively ended chain migration. But the Chrysler-Berman Amendment was introduced on the House floor to strip away the legal immigration reform provisions. The House voted in favor of the amendment, thus endorsing the chain migration which the Census Bureau projects will double the U.S. population again in the next century. Rep. Bilbray voted against that much-more congested future.
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Rep. Bilbray was an original supporter of H.R. 2202, the Immigration in the National Interest Act of 1995. It was a large omnibus bill designed to reform the entire immigration system. The legal immigration reforms it included were based on the bi-partisan Barbara Jordan Commission's recommendations for cutting the major links of family-chain migration and protecting American workers from further wage depression. The bill would have eliminated the categories for adult children and siblings and limited that for parents of adults. H.R.2202 also included dozens of provisions aimed at reducing illegal immigration, including a 10-year ban on legal re-entry for illegal aliens, additional border patrol agents and equipment, and worksite verification programs.
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Rep. Bilbray was one of 100 cosponsors of H.R. 1915, the Immigration in the National Interest Act. HR 1915, as introduced and passed by the Immigration and Claims Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, would have shifted the primary focus of immigration policy to spouses and minor children from extended family and to skilled immigrants from less skilled ones. It would have set a ceiling of 330,000 on family-based immigration. In addition this bill would have increased the number of skilled workers, while eliminating the unskilled worker category and the lottery program. H.R. 1915 also contained provisions designed to reduce illegal immigration such as worker verification programs. Many of the illegal immigration provisions of this bill were ultimately passed in the form of H.R. 2202 in 1996.
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Rep. Bilbray was a cosponsor of H.R. 3938, the Enforcement First Immigration Reform Act of 2005. H.R. 3938 implement some much-needed reforms in our legal immigration system by eliminating the visa lottery which awards 55,000 visas annually through a random drawing and by eliminating the Family 4th Preference category which allots 65,000 visas each year to the siblings of adult U.S. citizens. However, these reforms would be offset by a provision in H.R. 3938 to increase the annual cap on employment-based visas by 120,000 (bringning the total to 260,000).
In addition, H.R. 3938 contains significant enforcement and border control measures. Among its many provisions to reduce illegal immigration are measures to: authorize the use of the military on the border; increase the number of CBP officers, ICE agents, and Border Patrol agents; eliminate birthright citizenship; expand expedited removal; require employers to verify the eligibility of all new hires; clarify the authority of state and local law enforcement officers to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws; prohibit Social Security for illegal aliens; and increase document security.
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Rep. Bilbray was a cosponsor of H.R. 98, a bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to enforce restrictions on employment in the United States of illegal aliens through the use of improved Social Security cards and an Employment Eligibility Database. H.R. 98 would have required anyone applying for a job to get a new Social Security card with their photograph and biometric information on it. Employers would be required to verify a job applicant's legal status. Employers who violate the law would be fined $50,000 per instance (an increase of five times over the current fee). In addition, H.R. 98 called for 10,000 new Homeland Security Department investigators to enforce the law. Workplace verification programs are an important component of preventing illegal aliens from taking jobs from those who have the legal right to work in this country, and in removing the job magnet for illegal immigration.
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Rep. Bilbray helped the House pass H.R.3736.
Enacted into law, it increased by nearly 150,000 the number of foreign workers high-tech American companies could hire over the next three years. Although the foreign workers receive temporary visas for up to six years, most historically have found ways to stay permanently in this country. Rep. Bilbray voted for more foreign workers even though U.S. high tech workers over the age of 50 were suffering 17% unemployment and U.S. firms were laying off thousands of workers at the time.
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Before the House passed the H-1B doubling bill (H.R.3736), Rep. Bilbray had an opportunity to vote for a Watt Substitute bill that would have forbidden U.S. firms from using temporary foreign workers to replace Americans. Rep. Bilbray opposed that protection. The substitute also would have required U.S. firms to check a box on a form attesting that they had first sought an American worker for the job. Rep. Bilbray voted against that. The protections for American workers fell 33 votes short of passing.
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Rep. Bilbray voted AGAINST the Pombo Amendment to H.R.2202. He was part of a 242-180 majority that killed the amendment that would have created a massive new program. Agri-business would have been allowed to import up to 250,000 foreign farm workers each year for a period of service of less than a year. A bi-partisan congressional study with the Bush Administration (1989-93) had concluded that there were at least 190,000 farm workers already in America who were out of work at any given time. The federal commission said the oversupply of farmworkers was a major reason why farm workers’ real incomes had fallen by almost half over the previous two decades. The amendment had no provisions for ensuring that the temporary workers went home after their jobs were concluded. Rep. Bilbray’s vote was on the side of America’s farm workers and on the side of limiting illegal immigration.
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Rep. Bilbray supported continuing a guestworker program for foreign nurses through his vote IN FAVOR of the Burr Amendment to H.R.2202. Those favoring the amendment said many rural areas had a shortage of nurses and needed the foreign workers. The 262-154 majority, however, let the foreign nurses program end, contending that there are more than enough Americans trained in nursing to do the job if the pay and working conditions are appropriate.
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H.R. 1868, The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009, legislation that would end the process of granting automatic citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens. This would put an end to a major source of U.S. population growth and remove an incentive for illegal immigration. It has been, and is currently, U.S. policy to automatically grant U.S. citizenship to the babies born to illegal aliens in the United States -- some 300,000 to 350,000 a year according to a spring 2005 article in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Not only do these births represent additional U.S. population growth, but because the babies of illegal aliens are U.S. citizens, they can then act as 'anchors' to eventually pull a large number of extended family members into the country legally.
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H.R. 1940, The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2007, legislation that would end the process of granting automatic citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens. This would put an end to a major source of U.S. population growth and remove an incentive for illegal immigration. It has been, and is currently, U.S. policy to automatically grant U.S. citizenship to the babies born to illegal aliens in the United States -- some 300,000 to 350,000 a year according to a spring 2005 article in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Not only do these births represent additional U.S. population growth, but because the babies of illegal aliens are U.S. citizens, they can then act as 'anchors' to eventually pull a large number of extended family members into the country legally.
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H.R. 698, the Citizenship Reform Act of 2005, legislation that would end the process of granting automatic citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens. This would put an end to a major source of U.S. population growth and remove an incentive for illegal immigration. It has been, and is currently, U.S. policy to automatically grant U.S. citizenship to the babies born to illegal aliens in the United States -- some 300,000 to 350,000 a year according to a spring 2005 article in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Not only do these births represent additional U.S. population growth, but because the babies of illegal aliens are U.S. citizens, they can then act as 'anchors' to eventually pull a large number of extended family members into the country legally.
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Rep. Bilbray took a stand against one of the largest sources of U.S. population growth and against one of the strongest incentives for illegal immigration by co-sponsoring H.R.73 (the Bilbray Bill). As a matter of policy for decades, the federal government has granted citizenship to babies born to illegal-alien mothers. This is a pronounced reward to their mothers for having entered or stayed in the United States in violation of immigration laws. Not only do the mothers immediately get access to a whole array of social services for their babies, but these illegal aliens get a virtual guarantee that they will never be asked to leave the country. These babies of illegal aliens are called “anchor babies” because they act as an anchor to eventually pull large extended families into the United States. Rep. Bilbray wants to put an end to this enticement for citizens of other nations to become illegal aliens in this country. H.R.73 would have denied citizenship to babies of women who at the time of giving birth are in the U.S. as illegal aliens, tourists, temporary foreign workers, foreign students and diplomats. The only exception is if the mother is married to the father of the baby, and the father is a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted permanent resident alien. This will reduce legal U.S. population growth considerably. A California study in 1992 found 96,000 new citizens were added in that year in that state alone through these ‘anchor babies’ of illegal aliens. U.S. Census data on the birthrates of the foreign born indicate that well over 200,000 new citizens are added to the U.S. each year through anchor babies.
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Rep. Bilbray co-sponsored H.R. 7, the Citizenship Reform Act of 1997 that would have put an end to the automatic granting of citizenship to babies born to illegal aliens in the United States. This policy grants citizenship to some 200,000 additional people a year according to U.S. Census data. Not only do these births represent additional U.S. population growth, but because the babies of illegal aliens are U.S. citizens, they can then act as 'anchors' to eventually pull a large number of extended family members into the country legally.
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In the 104th Congress, Rep. Bilbray joined 44 other Representatives in cosponsoring H.R.1363 (the Bilbray Bill) to halt the automatic granting of U.S. citizenship to babies born to illegal-alien mothers in the United States. The House leadership did not bring the bill to a vote.
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Rep. Bilbray voted against the rule to H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Despite high publicity about the big loopholes in the bill allowing illegal aliens to participate in many parts of the new federal healthcare plan, the Rules Committee brought a rule to the House floor that blocked a vote on any amendment giving the Members a chance to close the loopholes. NumbersUSA notified the Members of Congress that a vote FOR the "closed" rule would be graded as a vote to provide rewards and incentives for illegal immigration. In particular, the rule prevented the House from considering the Heller, Deal, and Wilson verification amendments to the bill. By opposing the rule, Rep. Bilbray signaled his/her opposition to a health bill that creates rewards or incentives for illegal immigration. The rule passed 242-192 (7 Nov. 09; 1:33 PM).
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Rep. Bilbray is cosponsoring H.R. 3308, the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act of 2009. The bipartisan SAVE Act would help reduce illegal immigration by broadening and enhancing border security and interior enforcement measures. Perhaps the most important aspect of the SAVE Act is its requirement that ALL employers use the E-Verify electronic workplace verification program, an inexpensive, quick, and accurate way to verify the employment eligibility of ALL employees. This would go a long way toward removing the job magnet for illegal immigration. As well, the SAVE Act includes a number of border control provisions. Among the provisions specifically relating to border control are: (1) increasing the number of full-time border patrol agents by 8,000 through 2012; (2) more funding available for the Tunnel Task Force; (3) a student loan repayment program and other incentives to help recruit former members of the Armed Services, National Guard, and other Reserve Components; (4) new and updated border security, surveillance, communication, and apprehension technology; (5) an equipment sharing initiative between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, with progress reports made available to Members of Congress; (6) an official national strategy to secure all U.S. borders and ports of entry; (7) and, empowering governors in border states to declare a border emergency and request temporary redeployment of up to 1000 additional Border Patrol Agents.
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Rep. Bilbray supported the King amendment (250) to H.R. 2892, the 2010 DHS appropriations bill. This amendment requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to remove the lookout posts constructed by drug smugglers, thereby making it more difficult for drug smugglers and reducing illegal immigration associated with illegal drug activity. This amendment passed 240-187-1 (24 June 2009, 9:14 pm).
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Rep. Bilbray supported the King amendment (253) to H.R. 2892, the DHS appropriations bill. The amendment requires all DHS contractors and subcontractors to use the E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of their employees. The King Amendment would have essentially implemented an Executive Order signed by President George W. Bush requiring all federal contractors to use E-Verify but the EO has been continually postponed by President Obama. Use of E-Verify is one of the most effective tools of Attrition Through Enforcement and keeping illegal aliens out of U.S. jobs. The amendment passed 349-84 on 24 June 2009 (9:24 pm).
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H.R. 2406, the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2009. This bill will make sure local law enforcement agencies are reimbursed for the costs associated with incarcerating illegal aliens. Currently, this compensation is made available by the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). Unfortunately, the Obama Administration's budget for 2010 eliminates the SCAAP program (and the $400 million it receives). The CLEAR Act also recognizes local law enforcement's authority to help enforce immigration law, improves information sharing between local law enforcement agencies and the federal government, and requires the federal government to expeditiously remove criminal illegal aliens. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is the bill's main sponsor.
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Rep. Bilbray cosponsored H.R. 332. This bill would have prohibited an illegal alien, for purposes of Social Security benefits, from being credited for income earned while he/she was illegally present in the United States; and would have stipulated that this prohibition was not applicable retroactively, so that all benefits already granted would not have been affected. Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) was the measure’s main sponsor.
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Rep. Bilbray cosponsored H.R. 138, the Employment Eligibility Verification and Anti-Identity Theft Act. This bill would have required workers to resolve discrepancies if their names and Social Security numbers do not match; would have required employers to terminate workers who do not resolve such discrepancies; and would have required the Social Security Administration to notify DHS so it can investigate whether a crime has been committed. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) was the measure’s main sponsor.
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Rep. Bilbray cosponsored H.R. 939. This bill would have authorized DHS to request that the Defense Department (DOD) assign regular or reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines to assist Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in certain border protection functions, including preventing the entry of illegal aliens into the country; would have required DHS and DOD to establish a training program to ensure that members of the military receive general instruction regarding law enforcement in border areas and would have prohibited Armed Forces personnel from being deployed at a border location until they have successfully completed the training program; would have required a civilian law enforcement officer to accompany a member of the military at all times during such assignments; would have clarified that these provisions would not: (1) authorize Armed Forces personnel to conduct a search, seizure, or other similar law enforcement activity or to make an arrest; or (2) alter the prohibition on the use of any part of the Army or Air Force as a “posse comitatus”; would have authorized DHS to establish ongoing joint task forces if their establishment is necessary to respond to a threat to national security posed by, among other things, entry into the United States of illegal aliens; would have required DHS to notify the governor of the state in which Armed Forces personnel will be deployed pursuant to this bill – as well as nearby local governments – and to include in that notification a description of the types of tasks the Armed Forces personnel will be performing; and required DHS to reimburse DOD for the support the latter provides, with certain exceptions. Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) was the measure’s main sponsor.
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Rep. Bilbray cosponsored H.R. 1314, the Photo Identification Security Act. This bill would have prohibited Federal agencies (for any official purpose) and financial institutions (for purposes of verifying the identity of an individual seeking to open an account) from accepting any form of identification of an individual other than: (1) either: (a) a social security card accompanied by a photo identification card issued by the Federal or a state government; or (b) a state driver's license or identification card, provided that the state is in compliance with the REAL ID Act; (2) a U.S. or foreign passport; or (3) a photo identification card issued by DHS (through USCIS). Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) was the measure’s main sponsor.
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Rep. Bilbray cosponsored H.Con.Res. 83, which would provide a sense of Congress that: (1) state and local agencies should be supported for actively discouraging illegal immigration; (2) current immigration law should be enforced to the highest extent of the law; and (3) enhanced border security and enforcement measures should be passed quickly to ease the burden on state and local governments. The main sponsor of the legislation was Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tx.)
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Rep. Bilbray cosponsored the LEAVE Act (H.R. 994). This bill contains multiple provisions designed to help federal authorities enforce our immigration laws including mandatory employment verification, assistance by state and local law enforcement, additional ICE agents, and secure identification measures. Click here to read more about this bill. The bill's main sponsor is Rep. Gary Miller.
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Rep. Bilbray cosponsored the Scott Gardner Act (H.R.1199), which would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to share immigration information with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and submit a joint report to Congress about improving federal immigration databases to ensure prompt entry of immigration information. In addition, it would require each state and their local law enforcement agencies to collect and report all immigration and DWI-related information as a prerequisite for receiving State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP, a program that provides assistance to states for the incarceration of illegal aliens) funding. DWI-related information would then appear as a flag on the wants/warrants page of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. This legislation would also require DHS to reimburse costs associated with training state and local law enforcement employees on how to work with federal immigration laws [287(g)] and would authorize these agencies to apprehend and detain an alien for a DWI or a similar violation. Furthermore, it would require each state’s motor vehicle administrator to share with DHS all information concerning aliens with records of DWI convictions or refusals to take sobriety tests and would require DHS to submit to Congress a formula for expanding federal detention facilities. Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) is the bill’s main sponsor.
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Rep. Bilbray cosponsored a bill, HR 662, to reauthorize the E-Verify program for a period of 5 years. The E-Verify program allows businesses to determine the legal status of new hires and prevents illegal aliens from being hired, thus making the program an important tool in the Attrition through Enforcement anti-illegal immigration strategy.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of bill, HR 6633, to reauthorize the E-Verify program for a period of 5 years. The E-Verify program allows businesses to determine the legal status of new hires and prevents illegal aliens from being hired, thus making the program an important tool in the Attrition through Enforcement anti-illegal immigration strategy. The bill passed by a vote of 407-2 (31 July 2008; 7:44pm).
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Rep. Bilbray vote in favor of an amendment to H.R. 5818, the Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008. This amendment would prevent illegal aliens from receiving Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds pursuant to this act. The amendment passed by a vote of 391-33 (8 May 2008; 11:30 am).
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of an amendment to HR 5819 that would prohibit SBIR or STTR awards from going to a small business concern if an unlawful alien has an ownership interest in that concern or in a concern that has interest in the small business. The amendment also prohibits SBIR and STTR awards from going to businesses that have repeatedly hired, recruited, or referred unlawful aliens. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program ensure that the nation's small, high-tech, innovative businesses are a significant part of the federal government's research and development efforts. The amendment passed by a vote of 406-0, with 3 present.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of a motion to H.R. 5719, the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act. This motion would have recommitted H.R. 5719 with instructions to add language to deny tax exempt interest with respect to bonds of sanctuary states and cities, thereby putting pressure on cities that do not enforce immigration laws and cities who do not cooperate with federal authorities on immigration matters. This motion failed by a vote of 210-210.
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Rep. Bilbray is cosponsoring H.R. 4088, the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act of 2007. The bipartisan SAVE Act would help reduce illegal immigration by broadening and enhancing border security and interior enforcement measures. Perhaps the most important aspect of the SAVE Act is its requirement that ALL employers use the E-Verify electronic workplace verification program, an inexpensive, quick, and accurate way to verify the employment eligibility of ALL employees. This would go a long way toward removing the job magnet for illegal immigration. As well, the SAVE Act includes a number of border control provisions. Among the provisions specifically relating to border control are: (1) increasing the number of full-time border patrol agents by 8,000 through 2012; (2) more funding available for the Tunnel Task Force; (3) a student loan repayment program and other incentives to help recruit former members of the Armed Services, National Guard, and other Reserve Components; (4) new and updated border security, surveillance, communication, and apprehension technology; (5) an equipment sharing initiative between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, with progress reports made available to Members of Congress; (6) an official national strategy to secure all U.S. borders and ports of entry; (7) and, empowering governors in border states to declare a border emergency and request temporary redeployment of up to 1000 additional Border Patrol Agents.
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and increase interior enforcement in 2007
Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of the Charlie Norwood CLEAR Act of 2007. The Charlie Norwood CLEAR Act of 2007, H.R. 3494, essentially mandates the federal government to pick up every illegal alien apprehended by local authorities, and it would pay local police and sheriff's departments for detaining the illegal aliens. As well H.R. 3494 would require that all aliens who violate immigration law be entered into the National Crime Information Center database, therefore greatly increasing the chances for state and local police to apprehend them; would create a new criminal offense for unlawful presence in the United States; would require DHS to build or acquire 20 more detention facilities in the United States, with a total of at least 10,000 beds, so that more aliens can be detained pending their removal or a decision on their removal; would encourage state and local governments to provide DHS with information on suspected illegal aliens and, subsequently, reimburse them for the costs of doing so; and would, two years following enactment, cut off State Criminal Alien Assistance Program funding (which aids states in incarcerating illegal aliens who commit additional offenses) to any state (or a municipality therein) that has a sanctuary policy in place. This legislation would not only stop the illegal population in the United States from growing above its estimated 10-12 million level but also would begin slowly and steadily reducing the illegal population. Click here to read a summary of the bill.
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Rep. Bilbray voted for the Gingrey amendment to HR 3043, an amendment to prohibit the use of funds by the SSA to administer Social Security benefit payments, under any agreement between the United States and Mexico establishing totalization arrangements between the two countries. The amendment passed 254-168.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of the Forbes amendment to HR 2638, which would prohibit funds pursuant to this bill from being used to extend the "temporary protected status" designation of a country. This amendment failed 123-298.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of the first Tancredo amendment to HR 2638, which would prohibit funding from HR 2638 from being used to fund the visa waiver program. This amendment failed 76-347.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of the Brown-Waite amendment to HR 2638. This amendment re-directs $89 million set to be appropriated to the Undersecretary for Management's account to the Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology Account, with a view towards constructing at least 700 miles of fencing along the southern border. The amendment was adopted 241-179.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of the Drake Amendment to H.R. 2638, the appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. The Drake Amendment would fully fund the president's budget request ($26.4 million) for the training and support for the voluntary participation of local law enforcement officers in immigration law enforcement, an important force multiplier in the fight against illegal immigration. This amendment passed 286-127.
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H. Res. 499, providing a sense of the House that the Bush Administration should implement statutorily-mandated immigration and border controls and enforce existing Federal immigration law, including, notably: (1) implementation of the entry and exit portions of US-VISIT; (2) enforcement of existing provisions requiring the sanctioning of employers who do not comply with "unlawful employment" laws; (3) compliance with the Secure Fence Act of 2006 through completion of the fencing called for along the U.S.-Mexico border; and (4) increasing the use of expedited removal procedures for all illegal aliens eligible for such removal under Federal law. In addition, it would provide a sense of the House that taking these steps would: (1) result in a considerable decrease in illegal immigration into the United States; and (2) vastly improve U.S. border security.
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H.R. 98, the Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of 2007. H.R. 98 would establish a mandatory employment eligibility verification system in which employers would be required to verify new hires’ eligibility to work in the United States; and would upgrade Social Security cards’ security features by including: (1) a digitized photograph of the rightful bearer; (2) an encrypted machine-readable electronic identification strip unique to the rightful bearer; and (3) additional anti-tampering, -counterfeiting, and -fraud security features. Click here to read a summary of the bill.
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H.R. 2086, a bill that would authorize appropriations as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008 to DHS so that the agency may reimburse a state or local government for specified training-related expenses incurred by participation in the 287(g) program. The Section 287(g) program, established by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, is a means by which state and local law enforcement agencies may enter into agreements with DHS so that officers may receive training from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to perform immigration enforcement functions – such as identification, processing, and detention of immigration offenders. This training provides state and local police with additional tools they can use to prosecute crimes committed by aliens, especially gang violence and document fraud, while reducing the impact of illegal immigration on local communities and making it less likely that terrorists will be able to operate with impunity in the United States.
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Rep. Bilbray is a member of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus in the 110th Congress. The Immigration Reform Caucus was established in 1999 to review current immigration policy, propose new immigration policies and provide a forum in Congress for addressing the positive and negative consequences of our immigration policies. The Immigration Reform Caucus agenda for the 110th Congress includes efforts dedicated towards identifying legislative solutions to address the issue of illegal immigration.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of a Motion to Recommit H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007. The Motion to Recommit, introduced by Rep. McKeon (R-CA), would have recommitted H.R. 800 to the Committee on Education and Labor with instructions to report the legislation back to the House with an amendment that would require that all employees allowed to vote in union elections be citizens or legal residents of the United States. This would have prevented illegal aliens from voting in unionization elections. This would have been an important interior enforcement measure because illegal aliens should not be allowed to have an influence in whether a workforce decides to be unionized or to block unionization. Businesses should not be allowed to use illegal aliens to stop unionization desired by its American workers. And unions should not be allowed to use illegal aliens to force unionization on American workers who don't want it. Although some Representatives voted against the Motion to Recommit because it would have delayed final passage of the bill, a vote in favor of the Motion to Recommit was clearly a vote in favor of interior enforcement and against allowing illegal aliens to vote in union elections. Motion to The Motion to Recommit failed by a vote of 202-225.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of H.R. 4830, the Border Tunnel Protection Act of 2006 that would penalize any person constructing or financing a border tunnel with up to 20 years’ imprisonment and anybody who recklessly permits others to construct or use such a tunnel on their land with up to 10 years’ imprisonment; would punish those who use a border tunnel to smuggle aliens (including terrorists and criminals), weapons, drugs, and other illicit goods by doubling the sentence for the underlying offense (i.e., up to 40 years’ imprisonment). H.R. 4830 passed by a vote of 422 to 0.
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Rep. Bilbray signed on to a public document during the 2006 general election campaign, pledging to oppose granting permanent residency to illegal aliens.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act of 2006. H.R. 6061: requires the Department of Homeland Security to construct 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border; provides for the installation of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors in five specified lengths (encompassing approximately 700 miles) along the United States’ southwestern border; requires DHS to study the necessity, feasibility, and economic impact of constructing a similar barrier along the U.S.-Canada border; enhances border infrastructure, including checkpoints, roads, and vehicle barriers; and requires DHS to achieve and maintain "operational control" of our borders within 18 months of enactment and require reports on the progress toward this goal. H.R. 6061 passed by a vote of 283-138-1 (1 denotes a vote of "present.")
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Rep. Bilbray cosponsored H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act of 2006. H.R. 6061: required the Department of Homeland Security to construct 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border; provided for the installation of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors in five specified lengths (encompassing approximately 700 miles) along the United States’ southwestern border; required DHS to study the necessity, feasibility, and economic impact of constructing a similar barrier along the U.S.-Canada border; enhanced border infrastructure, including checkpoints, roads, and vehicle barriers; and required DHS to achieve and maintain "operational control" of our borders within 18 months of enactment and require reports on the progress toward this goal.
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Rep. Bilbray was a cosponsor of H.R. 1986, legislation to amend Title 10 of the United States Code to authorize the Secretary of Defense to assign members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps to assist the Department of Homeland Security in securing the borders under certain circumstances.
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and increase interior enforcement in 2005-2006
Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of, the CLEAR Act of 2005. H.R. 3137 essentially mandates the federal government to pick up every illegal alien apprehended by local authorities, and it would pay local police and sheriff's departments for detaining the illegal aliens. This legislation would not only stop the illegal population in the United States from growing above its estimated 10-12 million level but also would begin slowly and steadily reducing the illegal population.
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Rep. Bilbray is a cosponsor of H.R. 19, to require employers to conduct employment eligibility verification. H.R. 19 expands permanently the Employment Eligibility Verification System (originally named the Basic Pilot Program) nationwide and requires all employers to participate. As well, H.R. 19 expands the courts’ authority to require participation in system for employers found in violation of employer sanctions laws. H.R. 19 would phase the mandatory program in over a period of seven years.
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Rep. Bilbray acted to enforce the border by voting for the Traficant amendment to H.R.4205. This amendment authorizes the Secretary of Defense, under certain circumstances, to assign members of the Armed Forces to assist the INS with border control duties. The Traficant amendment passed by a vote of 243 to 183, but the Clinton Administration never chose to exercise this power.
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Rep. Bilbray, along with 52 other Republican Representatives took a stand against illegal immigration by signing a Dear Colleague letter from Representative Tom Tancredo to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. The letter expressed opposition to an illegal alien amnesty for more than 2 million illegal aliens in an end-of-session appropriations bill. This show of opposition was an important ingredient in the Speaker taking a firm stand against Pres. Clinton's amnesty and in the ultimate defeat of the proposed amnesty.
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Rep. Bilbray voted in favor of the Traficant amendment to H.R. 1401. This amendment authorized the Secretary of Defense, under certain circumstances, to assign members of the Armed Forces to assist the Border Patrol and Customs Service only in drug interdiction and counter terrorism activities along our borders. The Traficant amendment passed by a vote of 242 to 181.
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Bilbray voted for the Rohrabacher Motion to H.R.2267 as one of 153 Members who went on record as insisting on killing the notorious pro-illegal-immigration program called Section 245(i). The program dealt with certain illegal aliens who were on lists that could qualify them eventually for legal residency. It provided them a loophole in which they could pay a fee and avoid a 1996 law’s provision that punishes illegal aliens by barring them for 10 years from entering the U.S. on a legal visa as a student, tourist, worker or immigrant. The controversial experimental program was scheduled to “sunset” late in 1997 and be automatically taken off the books. But the Senate voted to permanently continue the pro-illegal immigration program by attaching it to an appropriations bill. House leaders, though, refused to include the program in the House appropriations bill. That meant the issue would be decided in a joint Senate/House Conference Committee. Representatives wanting to make sure that House Conferees fought the Senate stance, brought a “Motion to Instruct” to the floor. The motion would make clear House opposition to the Section 245(i) program. Rep. Bilbray resisted intense lobbying from immigration attorneys and businesses that rely on illegal labor, voting to “instruct” the Conferees to kill the program. House Conferees succeeded in doing just that.
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Rep. Bilbray was part of a 333-87 majority which passed H.R.2202. It was a large omnibus bill with dozens of provisions aimed at reducing illegal immigration. It authorized major increases in the border patrol forces. But it also had many provisions aimed at making life more miserable for illegal aliens who manage to get into the country, half of whom arrive with legal visas but then illegally overstay. Until passage of the bill, a person could be apprehended as an illegal alien, be deported and then turn around and come back to the U.S. on a legal student, tourist, worker or relative visa. After the bill, an illegal alien was barred from any kind of legal entry for 10 years.
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Rep. Bilbray was one of only 86 Representatives who took the tougher-on-illegal-immigration side during the voting on the Gallegly Amendment to H.R.2202. He voted IN FAVOR of the amendment which would have made pilot workplace verification programs (see above) mandatory in five of the top seven immigration states. The amendment failed 86-331 under complaints that businesses and states should have more choice in whether they participated in workplace programs to keep illegal aliens from taking jobs.
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Rep. Bilbray voted AGAINST the Chabot Amendment to H.R.2202. His vote was one in favor of setting up voluntary pilot programs in high-immigration states that would assist employers in verifying whether people they had just hired had the legal right to work in this country. Such verification is considered by many experts to be an essential tool for withdrawing the job magnet from illegal aliens. The verification system established by H.R.2202 did not involve an ID card. Rather it provided that when new workers wrote down their Social Security number on an application, employers could phone into a national verification system to help assure that the number was a real number and belonged to the person giving it. In earlier smaller pilot programs, businesses had hailed the verification system for making it easier for them to avoid hiring illegal aliens. But a coalition of conservative pro-business Members and of liberal civil libertarians tried to kill the verification program as too intrusive into the private rights of businesses and workers. Opposing that coalition, Rep. Bilbray was part of a 260-159 majority that preserved the voluntary pilot programs.
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Tell Representative Bilbray what you think of
his immigration record. |
| Phone: |
(202) 225-0508 |
| Fax: |
(202) 225-2558 |
| E-Mail: |
email available via website. | | Website: |
http://www.house.gov/bilbray |
| D.C. Address: |
2350 Rayburn
Washington, DC 20515
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