| 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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Sen. Sununu cosponsored S 1350, a bill that would reduce the visa lottery (currently 50,000) by two-thirds and allocate these visas to immigrants with advanced degrees. The main sponsor of this bill is Sen. Judd Gregg.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Clinton Amendment (SA 1183) to S. 1348. The Clinton Amendment would significantly increase legal immigration by adding an unlimited number of spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents to the uncapped immediate relative category that currently is for the spouses, minor children and parents of U.S. citizens only. The spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents currently are allocated some 87,000 visas each year. The Clinton Amendment failed by a vote of 44 to 53.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Menendez Amedment (SA 1194) to S. 1395. The Menedez Amendment would not only increase near-term legal immigration by more than 100,000 each year, it would remove even the façade that the bill would end chain migration. Specifically, it would change the cut-off date for reducing the “backlog” of family-sponsored immigration applicants from May 1, 2005, to January 1, 2007, the same date by which illegal aliens must have been unlawfully present in the United States in order to receive amnesty under this bill. It also adds 110,000 green cards a year for adult children and sibling backlog reduction. The Menedez Amendment failed by a vote of 53 to 44.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Akaka Amendment (SA 1186) to S. 1387 The Akaka Amendment would exempt children of Filipino World War II veterans naturalized pursuant to the Immigration Act of 1990 from numerical limits on worldwide immigration. This additional exemption from caps on visa issuance would serve only to increase the flow of immigration into the United States.The Akaka Amendment passed by a vote of 97 to 9.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a motion to invoke cloture and limit debate on S. 1639, thereby preventing it from moving toward a final vote. S. 1639 is the “corrected and updated” version of S. 1348, the guestworker-amnesty bill that would: grant an amnesty; authorize the importation of millions of new foreign workers; and do little to curb our illegal immigration crisis. Two days prior to this vote, the Senate had voted to invoke cloture and move forward with the debate on S. 1639, outside normal channels and bypassing the committee process. Two weeks prior to this vote, the Senate rejected cloture on the “grand bargain” substitute amendment to S. 1348 by a 45-50 margin, thus halting – for the time being – the bill’s progress toward final passage. President Bush then stepped in to plead with Senate Republicans to give the “compromise” another look. Senate Majority Leader Reid chose to bring the proposal back to the Senate as a new bill, S. 1369. This motion to invoke cloture on S. 1639 (the second motion) failed by a vote of 46 to 53.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a motion to invoke cloture and bring S. 1639, the “corrected and updated” version of S. 1348, the guestworker-amnesty bill that would grant an amnesty, would authorize the importation of millions of new foreign workers, and would do little to curb our illegal immigration crisis, to the Senate floor. Two weeks prior to this vote, the Senate rejected cloture on the “grand bargain” substitute amendment to S. 1348 by a 45-50 margin, thus halting – for the time being – the bill’s progress toward final passage. President Bush then stepped in to plead with Senate Republicans to give the “compromise” another look and Senate Majority Leader Reid then brought the proposal back to the Senate as a new bill, S. 1369. The motion to invoke cloture passed by a vote of 64 to 35.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the second cloture motion on the "grand bargain" substitute amendment (SA 1150) to S. 1348, the guestworker-amnesty bill that would grant an amnesty, would authorize the importation of millions of new foreign workers, and would do little to curb our illegal immigration crisis. The motion to invoke cloture would have ended the debate on the "compromise" proposal and limited further discussion of amendments to a previously-agreed upon set of proposals -- thus a vote against cloture was effectively a vote in favor of killing the amnesty-guestworker bill. The motion to invoke cloture failed by a vote of 45 to 50.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a motion to invoke cloture on S. 1348, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. The motion to invoke cloture was a procedural vote on whether or not to bring S. 1348 to the floor for debate without going through a committee process. Therefore, a vote in favor of cloture reflected not only a willingness to pass the amnesty but also to bring it up outside normal channels, i.e., without committee debate and amendments conducted in the public light. (Most Senators had not even seen the final version of the enormous bill before the vote). Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office had not estimated its cost. A vote against cloture can be seen as a vote against the amnesty, or at least against the procedure Majority Leader Reid tried to use to push the amnesty. Key components of S. 1348 include: an immediate amnesty for nearly all 12-20 million illegal aliens who will get legal status for residence and jobs (with the assurance of getting green cards no later than 13 years); mandatory workplace verification and some extra enforcement to try to slow the flow of the next 12 million illegal aliens enticed by the amnesty; a tripling of the rate of chain migration of extended family from around 250,000 a year to around 750,000 a year for about a decade; and new flows of 400,000 temporary foreign workers each year, bringing their families and having anchor babies who will be given U.S. citizenship. The cloture motion passed by a vote of 69 to 23, thus subjecting the bill to further debate and amendment.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Manager's Amendment (SA 4188), offered by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. The Manager's Amendment made many minor changes to S. 2611, none of have significant numeric impacts on the overall bill. However, the Manager's Amendment included a provision that requires consultation with the government of Mexico concerning the construction of additional fencing and related border security structures along the international border between the United States and Mexico. This would virtually guarantee that the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border would never be completed. The Manager's Amendment passed by a vote of 56 to 41 to 1 (the 1 denotes a "present" vote).
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Sen. Sununu voted against final passage of S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. S. 2611 would dramatically change most occupations and communities in America with the largest movement of foreign workers in world history. Specifically, S. 2611 would: reward approximately 10.2 million illegal aliens with an amnesty allowing them to permanently take American jobs and become U.S. citizens; entice millions more foreign workers to illegally enter our communities, crowd the housing and schools, take the jobs and depress the wages because they reasonably can believe they eventually will be given an amnesty, too; double legal immigration from 1 million to 2 million a year; give out permanent green cards to up to 66 million foreign workers and dependents over the next 20 years.
The main difference in terms of numbers between the final version of S. 2611 and the version of the bill when the cloture motion was invoked was that the Bingaman Amendment to cap the number of employment-based visas for workers, spouses and children at 650,000 was adopted after cloture but before final passage. Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation estimates that the Bingaman Amendment would reduce employment-based visas available under S. 2611 by about 150,000 a year. S. 2611 passed by a vote of 62 to 36.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a motion to invoke cloture on S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. The motion to invoke cloture was a procedural move to ends debate on S. 2611. If the motion had been rejected by at least 40 Senators, Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD (R-TN) would have had to choose between continued debate on S. 2611 and moving on to other legislative business. If the motion had failed, Sen. Frist was expected to move on to other legislative business, thus effectively killing the bill. S. 2611 provides an indirect path to citizenship for illegal aliens. S. 2611 also provides for major increases in temporary worker visas and permanent immigrant visas. It provides for at least an additional 100,000 H-1B visas annually; an additional 325,000 new guestworker visas (H-5A/H-2C visas); a one-time-only permanent increase of 310,660. In addition, the S. 2611 includes amnesty for an estimated 10.2 million illegal aliens (about 6.7 million illegal alien workers and 3.5 million illegal alien spouses and/or children). The cloture motion passed by a vote of 73 to 25.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a motion to invoke cloture on SA 3424, a "compromise amnesty" proposal by Sens. Hagel (R-NE) and Martinez (R-FL). The purpose of voting against allowing a final vote on this proposal varied from Senator to Senator, with many of them favoring the proposal but not willing to bring it up without a lot of votes on amendments. At the least, those voting against cloture were insisting on a chance for opponents of the bill to make their case with amendments. The Hagel-Martinez proposal was put forth as an alternative to the Senate Judiciary Committee-passed amnesty proposal. The Hagel-Martinez proposal differs from the Judiciary Committee proposal in that it provides an indirect path to citizenship for illegal aliens as opposed to the direct path outlined in the Judiciary Committee proposal. It only allows illegal aliens who have been in the country for more than 5 years to stay in the United States and adjust to legal status. Those who have been here less than 5 years but more than two years would be required to exit the country and return through the a land port of entry with a visa. Over time, qualified individuals would have the chance to become citizens. The Hagel-Martinez compromise also provides for major increases in temporary worker visas and permanent immigrant visas. It provides for at least an additional 100,000 H-1B visas annually; an additional 325,000 new guestworker visas (H-5A/H-2C visas); a one-time-only permanent increase of 310,660; and a total annual increase in permanent immigrant visas of at least 1,154,700. In addition, the Hagel-Martinez compromise includes amnesty for an estimated 10.2 million illegal aliens (about 6.7 million illegal alien workers and 3.5 million illegal aliens spouses and/or children). The cloture motion failed by a vote of 38 to 60.
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Sen. Sununu cosponsored the High-Tech Worker Relief Act of 2007 (S 1092). This bill would raise the cap on H-1B "high skill" nonimmigrant workers from 65,000 to 115,000 for fiscal year 2007 and to 195,000 for fiscal year 2008, and would return the cap to 65,000 for fiscal year 2009 and beyond; would eliminate the 20,000-per-year cap on visas for nonimmigrant workers who have earned a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution; would exempt the following nonimmigrants from direct numerical limitations on immigration: (1) aliens who have earned an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, or math from an accredited U.S. university and have been working in a related field in the United States under a nonimmigrant visa during the three-year period preceding their application for an employment-based visa; (2) aliens with "extraordinary ability" or who are "outstanding professors and researchers" or who have received a national interest waiver; and (3) the immediate relatives of an alien who is admitted as an employment-based immigrant.
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Sen. Sununu is a cosponsor of the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2007 (S 988). This bill would exempt any alien who has been present in the United States as an H-2B nonimmigrant worker for any one of the previous three fiscal years and who is returning to work as an H-2B from counting against the 66,000-per-year cap on H-2B visas (i.e., potentially tripling the number of H-2Bs in the U.S. at any one time). The main sponsor of this bill is Sen. Barbara Mikulski.
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Sen. Sununu cosponsored S 1350, a bill that would allocate an additional 36,667 foreign worker visas by removing them from the visa lottery. The main sponsor of this bill is Sen. Judd Gregg.
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Sen. Sununu cosponsored the H-1B Visa Program Modernization Act of 2007 (S 1351). This bill would increase the annual H-1B high-skill nonimmigrant worker visa cap to 150,000 (current cap is 65,000), beginning with fiscal year 2008, and would authorize a 20 percent increase of that cap in any fiscal year succeeding a year in which the cap was met (no provisions for a reduction if the cap isn’t met).
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Dorgan Amendment (SA 1316) to S. 1348 that sunsets the Y-1 "temporary" nonimmigrant nonagricultural worker program five years after enactment. The Dorgan Amendment had been voted on by the Senate two weeks prior to this vote and it failed by a vote of 48 to 49, but this time the Senate voted to pass it by a vote of 49 to 48.
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Sen. Sununu voted against SA 1231, the Durbin Amendment to S. 1348 to ensure that employers make efforts to recruit American workers before hiring foreign workers. The Durbin Amendment eliminates provisions authorizing the Department of Labor to waive requirements that employers in "labor shortage areas" offer jobs to U.S. workers before seeking to import foreign workers. This would allow American jobs to be made available to U.S. workers first, regardless of the industry, occupation, or location of the job. The Durbin Amendment passed by a vote of 71 to 22.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Sanders Amendment (S. 1223) to S. 1348. The Sanders Amendment would raise the fees employers who wish to import H-1B high-skill nonimmigrant workers from $1,500 to $10,000, with the funds going to scholarships for American high tech students. The Sanders Amendment passed by a vote of 59 to 35.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Dorgan Amendment> (SA 1181) to S. 1348 to sunset the bill's guestworker provisions in five years. The Dorgan Amendment failed by a vote of 48 to 49.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Bingaman Amendment (SA 1169) to S. 1348, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. The Bingaman Amendment would reduce the annual importation of workers under the new guestworker programs proposed by S. 1348 from 400,000 to 200,000 workers per year. The Bingaman Amendment passed by a vote 74 of 24.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Dorgan Amendment to S. 1348 to delete provisions in the bill establishing new “guestworker” programs, which, potentially, could authorize the importation of up to 600,000 foreign workers per year. The Dorgan Amendment failed by a vote of 31 to 64.
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Sen. Sununu is a cosponsor of S. 1083 (Securing Knowledge, Innovation, and Leadership [SKIL] Act of 2007). S. 1083 would more than double the number of employment-based (EB) immigrant visas available annually; would exempt EB immigrants seeking admission to work in “shortage occupations”; would vastly increase the cap on H-1B visas (i.e., a minimum cap of 115,000 per year, with 20 percent increases authorized in any year following a year in which the cap was met), but would eliminate statutory provisions authorizing a reduction in this cap; would create various permanent exemptions from numerical caps on admission for “high skill” aliens; would extend the authorized stay of L-1 “intracompany transferee/specialized knowledge” nonimmigrants (no cap on these visas) for whom applications for LPR status are pending, and, in so doing, would, for all intents and purposes, make their employment permanent, thus taking more jobs away from U.S. workers; and would expand eligibility for student visas.
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Sen. Sununu cosponsored S. 2284, the Save Our Small and Seasonal Business Act of 2006, to amend the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 to extend for three years an exemption for any H-2B alien who has been counted against the 66,000-visa cap during any of the three previous three fiscal years. H-2B visas are issued to "temporary" or "seasonal" low-skill workers. S. 2284 would have ultimately harmed American workers by creating exemptions which potentially could triple the number of H-2B workers in the U.S. at any given time.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Bingaman Amendment (SA 4131) to to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. The Bingaman Amendment would cap the number of employment-based visas for workers, spouses and children at 650,000. Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation estimates that the Bingaman Amendment would reduce employment-based visas available under S. 2611 by about 150,000 a year. The Bingaman Amendment passed by a vote of 51 to 47.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Dorgan Amendment (SA 4095) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. The Dorgan Amendment would have prohibited the issuance of new H-2C "guestworker" visas after five years, but authorized DHS to continue to extend the authorized stay of an H-2C alien after that date. This would have reduced the number of new guestworkers under S. 2611 from two million to one million (200,000 per year for five years instead of 10 years). The Dorgan Amendment failed by a vote of 48 to 49.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Hutchison Amendment (SA 4101) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. The Hutchison Amendment would require the State Department to grant a Secure Authorized Foreign Employee (SAFE) visa to a national of a NAFTA or CAFTA nation who meets specified requirements. The "E" visa is already a visa for treaty-trader countries, thus the Hutchison Amendment would have just created more unnecessary "guestworker" categories. The Hutchison Amendment failed by a vote of 31 to 67.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a motion to table the Kyl amdendment (SA 3969) to S. 2611. The Kyl amendment would have removed provisions allowing guestworkers admitted under S. 2611 to adjust status to that of lawful permanent resident on the basis of their status as a guestworker. This would have prevented 200,000 guestworkers a year from gaining greencards, resulting in 2 million less greencards over a decade. The motion to table the Kyl amendment passed by a vote of 58 to 35, effectively killing the amendment.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Cornyn Amendment (SA 3691, proposed for Sen. Isakson) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 . The Cornyn Amendment would prohibit DHS from implementing any guestworker program or granting amnesty as proposed by the bill unless the agency has certified that this bill’s border security measures and increases in Federal detention space have been completed and are fully operational. The Cornyn Amendment failed by a vote of 40-55.
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Sen. Sununu voted for a motion to table the Dorgan Amendment (SA 4017) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 . The Dorgan amendment would have stricken the guestworker provisions of the bill that would add an estimated 8.4 million foreign workers and their dependents over the next ten years (according to a May, 2006 study by the Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector). The motion to table passed by a voted of 68 to 29, effectively killing the Dorgan amendment.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a motion to table the Bingaman Amendment (SA 3981) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 . This was a procedural move to terminate further discussion of the amendment. The Bingaman amendment (submitted by Sen. Bingaman for himself and Sen. Feinstein) would cap the number of H-2C visas available annually for issuance at 200,000 and remove the 20% a year increase in annual guestworker visas. This would reduce the 10-year increase in foreign workers and their dependents from 8.4 million, as provided in the original bill, to two million. The motion to table the Bingaman amendment failed by a vote of 18 to 79 and the Bingaman amendment ultimately passed by voice vote.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Cornyn amendment (SA 3965) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 . The Cornyn amendment (submitted for himself and Sen. Grassley) would offer modest protections for American workers from being displaced by a foreign worker by prohibiting H-2C visas for employers unless they attest that they will employ an alien in the offered job position and DHS certifies that there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to fill the position. The Cornyn amendment passed by a vote of 50 to 48.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Kennedy amendment (SA 4066) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 . The Kennedy amendment weakens Sen. Cornyn's amendment (SA 3965) by not requiring Federal certification of the employer's need to import foreign workers. The Kennedy amendment passed by a vote of 56 to 43.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Byrd Amendment to S. 1932, the Budget Reconciliation bill. The amendment, introduced by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), would have stripped ALL immigration increases from the Budget Reconciliation bill and replaced the increase with a provision to impose a $1,500 fee on employers who hire certain non-immigrants. The immigration increase was added to the Budget Reconciliation bill by the Senate Judiciary Committee as a result of an 14-2 vote in favor of an amendment introduced by Senator Arlen Specter. The Specter plan would increase permanent, employment-based immigration by nearly tripling the number of foreign workers who can enter the U.S. each year. As well, it exempts workers’ families from the 140,000-visa cap on employment-based immigration. It also raises the cap on employment-based permanent immigration by adding each year the lesser of 90,000 visas or any “unused” employment-based visas from any prior year. Altogether, these provisions could generate a net increase in permanent immigration of 366,000 aliens, or about one-third of current, annual legal immigration. Senator Byrd’s amendment was cosponsored by Sens. Sessions (R-AL) and Durbin (D-IL). It was also supported by the AFL-CIO. The Byrd Amendment failed by a vote of 14 to 85.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of S. Amdt. 387, an amendment offered by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), to H.R. 1268, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005. The Mikulski amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act increased the number of H-2Bs who can enter and take jobs in the United States in the next two years and apportioned the H-2B visa cap so that visas will be available throughout the year. Specifically, the Mikulski Amendment would split the H-2B visa cap so no more than 33,000 visas are made available for the first six months the fiscal year, and another 33,000 visas would be available in the second half of the year. HOWEVER, the Mikulski Amendment exempts from the annual cap aliens granted an H-2B visa within three years prior to approval of an H-2B petition, thus potentially TRIPLING the number of H-2B workers in the United States at any one time. Although apportioning H-2B visas is a common-sense approach that will help prevent the situation that occurred in FY 2004 and FY2005 when the 66,000 annual cap on H-2B (low-skill) nonimmigrant visas was hit within the first quarter of the year, the Mikulski Amendment would ultimately harm American workers by creating exemptions which potentially could triple the number of H-2B workers in the U.S. at any given time. Fortunately, however, the increase is limited to two years, and the additional visas can go only to foreign workers who worked in this country legally during the last three years. The Amendment passed by a vote of 94 to 6.
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Sen. Sununu is a cosponsor of S. 352, the Save Our Small and Seasonal Business Act of 2005, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit the timing of issuance of H-2B visas during a fiscal year. Specifically, S. 352 would split the H-2B visa cap so no more than 33,000 visas are made available for the first six months the fiscal year, and another 33,000 visas would be available in the second half of the year. HOWEVER, S. 352 exempts from the annual cap aliens granted an H-2B visa within three years prior to approval of an H-2B petition, thus potentially TRIPLING the number of H-2B workers in the United States at any one time. Although timing the issuance of H-2B visas is a common-sense approach that would help prevent the situation that occurred in FY 2004 and FY 2005 when the 66,000 annual cap on H-2B (low-skill) nonimmigrant visas was hit within the first quarter of the year, S. 352 would ultimately harm American workers by creating exemptions which potentially could triple the number of H-2B workers in the U.S. at any given time.
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Sen. Sununu cosponsored the Summer Operations and Services (SOS) Relief and Reform Act, S. 2258. Introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), S. 2258 said that any worker who was approved for an H-2B visa in the two years preceding the current year can get an H-2B visa this year, without regard for the cap. S. 2258 had the potential to triple, rather than just double, the cap of 66,000, because it could affect 66,000 from FY 2002 and 66,000 from FY 2003, plus the 66,000 already approved for 2004.
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Sen. Sununu cosponsored S. 2252, the Save Summer Act of 2004. Introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), S. 2252 would have raised the annual cap on H-2B visas for 2004 by 40,000, for a total of 106,000 H-2B visas. This would have allowed thousands of low skill foreign workers to enter the U.S. and compete with American workers.
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Rep. Sununu 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. Sununu 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. Sununu 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. Sununu 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. Sununu voted against that. The protections for American workers fell 33 votes short of passing.
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Sen. Sununu cosponsored S. 717, the Identification Security Enhancement Act of 2007. This bill would have repealed the REAL ID Act's provisions implementing secure driver’s license/personal identification card standards; would have prohibited a Federal agency from accepting a driver’s license or identification card newly issued by a state more than two years after minimum standards are promulgated (pursuant to a negotiated rule making process involving specified stakeholders), unless the license or card conforms to those standards; would have required states to be in full compliance (i.e., each state would be required to certify compliance with DHS) with those minimum standards within five years of the standards being issued, unless DHS determines that a later deadline for compliance is more feasible; and would have required DHS to award grants to states to assist them in conforming with minimum standards for driver’s licenses and identification cards as established pursuant to this bill. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) was the measure’s main sponsor.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Sessions Amendment to S CON RES 70. This amendment would increase funding for border security, guarantee 700 miles of fencing, place 6,000 National Guardsmen on the border, and reimburse state and local law enforcement. The amendment passed 61 to 37. A second amendment, the Menendez Amendment to S CON RES 70 was also passed by the Senate. This amendment has the same purpose as the Sessions Amendment, but uses weaker and less-clear text. The Menendez Amendment does not guarantee the number of National Guardsmen on the border, proclaim a zero-tolerance policy in illegal aliens, or guarantee border fencing. The Menendez Amendment passed 53-45 (13 March 2008; 4:29pm).
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Sen. Sununu voted against tabling an amendment (SA 4309) sponsored by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) to (S. Con. Res. 70), a concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2009. The Vitter Amendment, if adopted, would have created a reserve fund to ensure that Federal assistance does not go to sanctuary cities that ignore the immigration laws of the United States and create safe havens for illegal aliens and potential terrorists. Sanctuary policies bar public officials, including police officers, from asking an individual's immigration status and from reporting illegal aliens to federal authorities. In 1996, Congress passed a law that specifically prohibits state and local governments from enacting sanctuary policies. Despite that, cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, still have sanctuary policies in place. Maine is the only state with a sanctuary policy. The Vitter Amendment would have been a huge incentive for states and municipalities to rescind their sanctuary policies. The vote to table the Vitter Amendment passed 58 to 40, effectively killing the amendment.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a motion to invoke cloture on S. 2205, The "Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act of 2007." The DREAM Act amnesty would not just offer U.S. citizenship to illegal alien teenagers, it also would provide amnesty to the parents of most of them. An analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies found that the DREAM Act would offer amnesty to 2.1 million illegal aliens (Once the amnestied teens become citizens they can obtain an amnesty for their parents. The motion to invoke cloture failed by a vote of 52 to 44 (60 YES votes were needed for cloture to pass and to prevent a filibuster). Click here to read a summary of the bill.
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Sen. Sununu voted against tabling an amendment (SA 3313) offered by Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) to H.R. 3093 (Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008). The Dole Amendment would have appropriated $75 million to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for general support of state and local law enforcement's assistance in the enforcement of Federal immigration laws. The vote to table the amendment passed by a vote of 50 to 42, effectively killing the amendment.
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Sen. Sununu voted against tabling an amendment (SA 3277) sponsored by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) to the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) spending bill (H.R. 3093). The Vitter Amendment, if adopted, would have prevented the Federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program funds from going to states and municipalities with sanctuary policies in place that protect illegal aliens, criminal aliens, and, potentially, terrorists. Sanctuary policies bar public officials, including police officers, from asking an individual's immigration status and from reporting illegal aliens to federal authorities. In 1996, Congress passed a law that specifically prohibits state and local governments from enacting sanctuary policies. Despite that, cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, still have sanctuary policies in place. Maine is the only state with a sanctuary policy. The Vitter Amendment would have been a huge incentive for states and municipalities to rescind their sanctuary policies. The vote to table the Vitter Amendment passed 52 to 42, effectively killing the amendment.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Coburn Amendment (SA 1131) to S. 1348. The Coburn Amendment would have added some teeth to the underlying measure's so-called enforcement "triggers" and would surely have delayed the granting of any amnesty to illegal aliens or the importation of any additional "temporary" nonimmigrant workers. Specifically, the Coburn Amendment required DHS, in addition to the mechanisms needed to "trigger" implementation of the bill's amnesty and guestworker provisions, to certify the implementation of various border security and interior enforcement measures (e.g., all statutorily-required border fencing has been constructed, US-VISIT is fully operational, "sanctuary cities" are prohibited, denying aliens who are likely to become public charges admission into the United States, etc.). It also required the president to certify that all of these "triggering" mechanisms are fully implemented and operational and, subsequently, required Congress to approve the certification – all of this prior to implementation of amnesty and guestworker provisions. The Coburn Amendment failed by a vote of 42 to 54.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Cornyn Amendment (SA 1250) to S. 1348. The Cornyn Amendment prohibits illegal aliens seeking amnesty under this bill (in this case, "probationary status") from submitting "sworn affidavits from nonrelatives" as proof of unlawful work or unlawful presence in the United States. It eliminates provisions protecting the confidentiality of the information contained in amnesty applications and, instead, requires the sharing of application-related information upon the request of a law enforcement agency, intelligence, or national security agency, or DHS component when requested in connection with a duly-authorized investigation of a civil violation. The Cornyn Amendment would not only serve as a disincentive for illegal aliens to seek amnesty, but it also would encourage cooperation between the Federal government and state and local governments in the effort to do what has not been done enough in recent decades – enforce our immigration laws. The Cornyn Amendment passed by a vote of 57 to 39.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Bingaman Amendment (SA 1267) to S. 1348 to The Bingaman Amendment would have removed the requirement that Y "temporary" nonimmigrant workers (as provided for in the underlying legislation) leave the United States before they renew their visas – not by modifying the length of their authorized stay (i.e., up to six years), but by mandating that they be given visas that expire after two years and that are renewable twice. By not requiring "temporary" workers to even prove their status as "guests" in our country, this amendment would encourage more visa overstays and further disregard for the rule of law. The Bingamen Amendment failed by a vote of 41 to 57.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Cornyn Amendment (SA 1184) to S. 1385 to establish a permanent bar for gang members, terrorists, and other criminals. The Cornyn Amendment would have permanently barred from admission into the United States, and denied immigration benefits (including legal status under the amnesty in this bill), to: (1) absconders (i.e., aliens already ordered deported); (2) aliens deemed inadmissible or deportable as security risks (e.g., terrorists); (3) aliens who fail to register as sex offenders; (4) aliens convicted of certain firearms offenses; (5) aliens convicted of domestic violence, stalking, crimes against children, or violation of protection orders; (6) alien gang members; and (7) aliens convicted of at least three DUIs. The Cornyn Amendment failed by a vote of 46 to 51.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Vitter Amendment (SA 1157) to S. 1348. The Vitter Amendment would strike the amnesty provisions of the bill. The Vitter Amendment failed by a vote of 29 to 66.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Coleman Amendment (SA 1158) to S. 1348 to enable state and local officials to inquire about a person’s immigration status for law enforcement and benefit application purposes. The Coleman Amendment would make it more difficult for illegal aliens to benefit from sanctuary policies (already explicitly prohibited under Federal law). The Coleman Amendment failed by vote of 48-49.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Sessions Amendment to H.R. 2, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. The Sessions Amendment (S. Amdt. 100) would prohibit employers who hire illegal aliens from receiving government contracts. This would serve as a disincentive to hire illegal aliens and a step toward removing the job-magnet for illegal immigration. The Sessions Amendment passed by a vote of 94-0.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of final passage 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. The Senate passed H.R. 6061 passed by a vote of 80 to 19.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Sessions amendment to H.R. 5631, the Department of of Defense Appropriations bill for 2007. This was an amendment to appropriate $1.8 billion for the construction of border fencing and vehicle barriers along the southern border. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), would fund the fencing and barrier provisions proposed by S. 2611 which passed the Senate in late May. A fence is one of the most effective tools for preventing illegal migration. The Sessions Amendment passed by a voted 94-3.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Sessions Amendment to H.R. 5441, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill for 2007. This was an amendment to add about $86 million for 800 more staff to investigate immigration law violations, offset by reductions in other programs. The Sessions Amendment failed by a vote of 34 to 66.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Sessions Amendment to H.R. 5441, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill for 2007. This was an amendment to add 370 miles of fence on the Southwest border paid for by $1.8 billion in offsets from other programs. A fence is one of the most effective tools for preventing illegal migration. This amendment would have funded the fence provided for in the Senate-passed bill (S. 2611). The Sessions Amendment failed by a vote of 29 to 71.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Manager's Amendment (SA 4188), offered by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. The Manager's Amendment made many minor changes to S. 2611, none of have significant numeric impacts on the overall bill. However, the Manager's Amendment included a provision that requires consultation with the government of Mexico concerning the construction of additional fencing and related border security structures along the international border between the United States and Mexico. This would virtually guarantee that the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border would never be completed. The Manager's Amendment passed by a vote of 56 to 41 to 1 (the 1 denotes a "present" vote).
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Feinstein Amendment (SA 4087) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. The Feinstein Amendment would have made an additional two million illegal aliens eligible for amnesty by replacing the bill's "earned legalization" amnesty and Deferred Mandatory Departure provisions with a one-tiered scheme in which all aliens illegally present in the United States on or before January 1, 2006, are granted amnesty and an "orange card" (instead of the normal "green card" that lawful permanent residents are issued) if they are otherwise admissible. The, after a 6-8 year period, orange card holders are allowed to adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident status if they pay a $2,000 fine. The Feinstein Amendment failed by a vote of 37 to 61.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Sessions amendment (SA 3979) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 . The Sessions amendment requires DHS to construct at least 370 miles of triple-layered fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers in other areas along the southwest border that DHS determines are areas that are most often used by smugglers and illegal aliens attempting to gain illegal entry, and requires that construction thereof be completed within two years. This physical barrier would help deter illegal entry into the United States. The Sessions amendment passed by a vote of 83 to 16.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the Vitter amendment (SA 3963) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 . Sen. Vitter submitted the amendment for himself, Sens. Chambliss, Grassley, and Santorum. The Vitter amendment would remove provisions authorizing the “earned legalization” and “agricultural worker” amnesty schemes that would grant amnesty to an estimated 16 million illegal aliens and their families (according to a May, 2006 study by the Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector). The Vitter amendment failed by a vote of 33 to 66.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a motion to table the Ensign amendment (SA 3985) to S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 . The Ensign amendment (submitted for himself, Sen. Santorum, and Sen. Inhofe), would have prohibited the payment of Social Security benefits based on quarters of coverage earned by an individual who has not at some point had a valid Social Security number. This would have addressed part of the problem of aliens getting Social Security credit for work performed while they were illegally present in the United States (aliens who came in on temporary work visas, but overstayed their visas, would continue to get credit for all work performed, including after they became illegal). The motion to table the Ensign amendment passed by a vote of 50 to 49, effectively killing the amendment.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Bingamen Amendment to S. 2454. The Bingaman Amendment authorizes DHS to award grants to a state, local, or tribal law enforcement agency located in a county within 100 miles of a U.S. border with Canada or Mexico, or in a county beyond 100 miles that has been certified by DHS as a "high impact area," to provide assistance in addressing: (1) criminal activity that occurs by virtue of proximity to the border; and (2) the Federal government's failure to adequately secure its borders. Authorizes appropriations of $50 million annually, for fiscal years 2007 through 2011, to implement this grant program. Although this amendment does not require the establishment of the grant program and caps the amount available for implementation of the program it could, potentially, bring these agencies more into the enforcement fold.
The Bingaman Amendment passed by a vote of 84 to 6.
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Sen. Sununu voted against the McCain amendment (S. Amdt. 1171) to H.R. 2360, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. The McCain amendment would have increased the number of detention beds in the United States consistent with the number authorized in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The McCain amendment failed by a vote of 42 to 56.
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Sen. Sununu voted against a procedural move requiring 60 votes to limit debate and ensure a vote on the AgJOBS amnesty amendment introduced by Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID). The Senate voted 53 to 45 not to invoke cloture, effectively keeping the amnesty off the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief. AgJOBS is an amnesty for agricultural workers. Of the 1.2 million illegal aliens currently working in agriculture, an estimated 860,000 plus their spouses and children could qualify for this amnesty, so the total could reach three million or more. The potential recipients of the amnesty would be required to prove 100 days of agricultural employment in the 18-month period that ended Aug. 31, 2004. Then, prior to receiving amnesty, workers would have to show 360 days of additional farm work over the next six years.
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Sen. Sununu voted in favor of the Byrd Amendment (S. Amdt. 516) to H.R. 1268, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief of 2005. The Byrd Amendment provides $390 million to hire 650 more border patrol agents, 250 new immigration investigators, and 168 new immigration enforcement agents and deportation officers. The Byrd amendment also provides funds for 2,000 additional detention beds as well as funding to train the new personnel. Passage of the Byrd Amendment sent a strong signal from the Senate in favor of increased Border Patrol and Interior Enforcement. The Byrd Amendment passed by a vote of 65 to 34.
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Rep. Sununu voted in favor of H. Amdt. 479 to H.R. 4546, the Department of Defense Authorization bill. The amendment authorized the Secretary of Defense to assign members of the military, under certain circumstances, to assist the Bureau of Border Security and U.S. Customs Service of the Department of Homeland Security on preventing the entry of terrorists, drug traffickers, and illegal aliens into the United States The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Goode of Virginia, passed the House by a vote of 232-183.
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Rep. Sununu voted as part of the House Appropriations Committee against the Serrano Amendment to a supplemental appropriations bill. His vote was a vote against lax enforcement of immigration laws that has contributed to the current illegal alien population of some 8-9 million in the U.S. The Serrano Amendment would have prohibited local or state law enforcement officials from enforcing certain immigration laws (also known as implementation of Section 133). The Serrano Amendment failed by a vote of 23 to 33.
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Rep. Sununu voted as part of the House Appropriations Committee against the Farr Amendment to H.R. 4775, a supplemental appropriations bill. The Farr Amendment would have re-instated the Section 245(i) amnesty for four months. Section 245(i) grants an amnesty from the usual penalties for having broken immigration laws, which illegal aliens admit to doing in order to apply for Section 245(i). And current INS policy allows all illegal aliens who apply under Section 245(i) to remain in the U.S. during the years before a green card will actually become available. In addition, Section 245(i) removes the all-important security step of our embassies conducting background checks on potential immigrants in their home countries. Rep. Sununu's vote was a vote against accelerating the congestion and sprawl of American life by enticing millions more illegal aliens to move here. The Farr Amendment failed by a vote of 27-32.
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Rep. Sununu voted FOR H RES 365, which was brought up and passed in a new form in March of 2002. The vote in favor of the bill was a vote in favor of rewarding illegal aliens via a four-month reinstatement of Section 245(i). That is an expired immigration provision that allows illegal aliens with qualified relatives or employers in the U.S. to pay a $1,000 fine, to apply for a green card in this country, and to be
allowed to stay in this country without fear of deportation until their turn arrives for a green card years, and even decades, later. The illegal aliens also would not have to go through the usual security screening in U.S. embassies in their home countries. The lowest estimate from supporters of the bill was that some 200,000 illegal aliens would benefit. H RES 365
included language that would implement some important visa-tracking regulations helpful to discouraging illegal immigration. But all of those provisions had already been passed previously in H.R. 3525, making the assistance to illegal aliens the sole purpose of the bill.
Rep. Sununu was one of 275 Representatives who voted in favor of the 245(i) amnesty. The bill narrowly passed by a vote of 275 to 137 (a two-thirds majority was needed in order to pass).
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Rep. Sununu voted on the floor of the House IN FAVOR OF a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1885, a four-month extension of Section 245(i), which is a de facto amnesty in that current federal policy did not deport illegal aliens once they applied for Section 245(i) and allowed them to remain in the U.S. for years until they were allowed to become official immigrants. The vote on the four-month extension represented a compromise of the White House push for a longer extension. Even though the four month extension was better than a year-long or permanent extension, it still would have resulted in at least 200,000 more people being added to the country through illegal immigration. Rep. Sununu was part of a 336-43 majority voting in favor of the four-month extension of Section 245(i). It did not become law, though.
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Sen. Sununu cosponsored S. 1645, the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2003, an amnesty for agricultural workers. Of the 1.2 million illegal aliens currently working in agriculture, an estimated 860,000 plus their spouses and children could have qualified for this amnesty, so the total could have reached three million or more. The potential recipients of the amnesty would have been required to prove 100 days of agricultural employment in the 18-month period that ended Aug. 31, 2003. Then, prior to receiving amnesty, workers would have had to show 360 days of additional farm work over the next six years.
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Rep. Sununu voted to enforce the border by voting for the Traficant amendment to HR 2586. This amendment authorized the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, to request that members of the Armed Forces assist the INS with border control duties. The Traficant amendment passed by a vote of 242 to 173, but this measure was never considered by the Senate.
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Rep. Sununu 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. Sununu 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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Sununu 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. Sununu 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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