| Usually supports higher immigration, population growth, 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. Menendez cosponsored S. 671, the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act. This bill would have exempted children of Filipino World War II veterans naturalized pursuant to the Immigration Act of 1990 from numerical limits on worldwide immigration. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) was the measure’s main sponsor.
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Sen. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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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Rep. Menendez voted against the Goodlatte Amendment to H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The Goodlatte Amendment 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. The Goodlatte Amendment passed by a vote of 273 to 148.
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Rep. Menendez in 1996 voted for the Chrysler-Berman Amendment to H.R.2202. It was a vote in favor of a chain migration system that has been the primary cause of annual immigration levels snowballing from less than 300,000 in 1965 to around a million today. Rep. Menendez supported provisions that allow 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 and chain migration (begun only in the 1950s) in order to lessen wage depression among lower-paid American workers. The House Judiciary Committee agreed with the Jordan Commission and passed H.R.2202, which would have effectively ended chain migration. But on the floor of the House, Rep. Menendez helped kill the reform by voting for the Chrysler-Berman Amendment which stripped out the legal immigration reforms. Rep. Menendez’s vote was important; the reformers were only 28 votes short of approving the end of chain migration. Rep. Menendez helped continue a level of immigration that the Census Bureau projects will result in a doubled U.S. population in the next century. The Chrysler-Berman amendment passed the House by a vote of .
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Sen. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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 aliens spouse and/or children). The cloture motion passed by a vote of 73 to 25.
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Sen. Menendez voted in favor of a motion to invoke cloture on SA 3424, a "compromise amnesty" proposal by Sens. Hagel (R-NE) and Martinez (R-FL). This was a procedural vote that was highly tied up in partisan politics. Although it is impossible to know just why one voted against cloture, most of those voting for cloture did so because they wanted the bill to be passed in a succeeding vote. Therefore, most of the votes against cloture were votes against the amnesty. 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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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of the Stearns Amendment to H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The Stearns Amendment prohibits any alien from being granted legal immigration status of any kind until criminal record databases and terrorist watch lists are checked, and it is confirmed that no fraud has occurred. This amendment would subject each and every individual who seeks any sort of legal immigration status to a criminal background check and a review of terrorist watch lists to ensure that the United States only grants immigration status those who do not wish our citizens harm. The Stearns Amendment passed by a vote of 420 to 0.
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Sen. Menendez 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez 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. Menendez 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez 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. Menendez 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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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Rep. Menendez voted against the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CAFTA). CAFTA does not does NOT include any explicit language about visas. It does, however, include language in chapters 10 and 11 that is virtually identical to the language in other FTAs that creates the expectation of a right of immigration. It is expected that, like NAFTA, CAFTA will generate an increase in illegal immigration. CAFTA, like other recent FTAs, covers four "modes" of delivery of services between countries (Cross Border, Consumption Abroad, Commercial Presence and Movement of natural persons). Although there is nothing in the text of the agreement that would provide a single extra visa to the United States, by using language on Mode 3 and Mode 4 delivery of services that is identical or virtually identical to that in all recent FTAs, the USTR has allowed for the creation of an expectation of immigration. In other words, the foreign investors and service providers who read the agreement may easily believe that it will give them the right to enter the United States either to invest in a service providing company here or to go to work for a subsidiary from the home country. (Remember that Congress only has the authority to approve or reject free trade agreements; it many not amend them because of the President's fast track authority. Once Congress gives its approval, it may not pass laws that restrict or alter the provisions of the trade agreement, or the United States will be subject to trade sanctions.) CAFTA narrowly passed the House by a vote of 217 to 215.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Tancredo Amendment to H.R. 2862, the Science, State, Justice, Commerce (SSJC), and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006. The Tancredo Amendment would have prohibited the use of SSJC funds to include in any bilateral or multilateral trade agreement any provisions that would increase immigration. This effectively would have prevented the U.S. Trade Representative from including immigration increases in Free Trade Agreements (as occured with the Sinagpore and Chile Free Trade Agreements, for instance). The Tancredo Amendment failed by a vote of 106 to 322.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Singapore Free Trade Agreement, H.R. 2739. The trade agreement would permit an unlimited number of workers in Singapore to enter the U.S. each year as "treaty traders or investors" who are coming to the U.S. to carry on trade between the U.S. and Singapore or to "establish, develop, administer or provide advice or key technical services" to the operations of a business in which they have invested capital. Congress is prohibited from restricting the category with numerical limits, labor certification requirements or other protections for American workers. This category is in addition to the number of Singaporeans who are permitted to come to the U.S. each year under our normal immigration laws. Finally, the agreements also prohibit Congress from placing any numerical limits, labor certification requirements or other protections for American workers on the issuance of L-1 visas to nationals of Singapore. L-1 visas are available to "intra-company transferees," or aliens who have been employed abroad for at least one year in the three years preceding application by a business that has subsidiaries or affiliates in the United States. Such visas have been widely abused by businesses seeking to avoid the restrictions on H-1B visas. The Singapore Free Trade Agreement passed the House by a vote of 272-155.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of the Chile Free Trade Agreement, H.R. 2738. The trade agreement would permit an unlimited number of workers in Chile to enter the U.S. each year as "treaty traders or investors" who are coming to the U.S. to carry on trade between the U.S. and Chile or to "establish, develop, administer or provide advice or key technical services" to the operations of a business in which they have invested capital. Congress is prohibited from restricting the category with numerical limits, labor certification requirements or other protections for American workers. This category is in addition to the number of Chileans who are permitted to come to the U.S. each year under our normal immigration laws. Finally, the agreements also prohibit Congress from placing any numerical limits, labor certification requirements or other protections for American workers on the issuance of L-1 visas to nationals of Chile. L-1 visas are available to "intra-company transferees," or aliens who have been employed abroad for at least one year in the three years preceding application by a business that has subsidiaries or affiliates in the United States. Such visas have been widely abused by businesses seeking to avoid the restrictions on H-1B visas. The Chile Free Trade Agreement passed the House by a vote of 270-156.
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Rep. Menendez 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. Menendez 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. Menendez voted for a Watt Substitute bill that would have forbidden U.S. firms from using temporary foreign workers to replace Americans. It 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. The substitute failed 177-242.
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Rep. Menendez 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. Menendez’s vote was on the side of America’s farm workers and on the side of limiting illegal immigration.
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Rep. Menendez was part of a 262-154 majority that brought a foreign nurses guestworker program to an end. He voted AGAINST 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. Rep. Menendez was among those who contended 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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Sen. Menendez voted to table an amendment (SA 2630) sponsored by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) to the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) spending bill (H.R. 2847). The Vitter Amendment, if adopted, would have prevented federal 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 61 to 38 (7 October 2009, 5:56 PM), effectively killing the amendment.
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Sen. Menendez opposed the DeMint amendment to H.R. 2892, the DHS Appropriations bill. The DeMint amendment mandates that the 700 miles of border fencing (which was previously approved and appropriated for) be completed. The DeMint amendment passed 54-44.
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Sen. Menendez supported a motion to table the Sessions amendment to H.R. 2892, the DHS Appropriations bill (by supporting the motion to table, the Senator was opposing the amendment). The Sessions amendment authorizes E-Verify permanently, mandates that any business getting a federal contract must run all new hires through E-Verify, and mandates that every existing employee who works on the government contracts must be run through E-Verify. Thus, for the first time, E-Verify can be used to root out illegal aliens who were previously hired. The existing employee provision only applies to that part of a company actually working on the government contract. The motion to table the Sessions amendment failed 44-53 and the amendment passed via a voice vote. By opposing the Sessions amendment the Senator voted to give American jobs to illegal aliens.
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Sen. Menendez opposed the Vitter Amendment to H.R. 627, The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009. This amendment would have required the banks that issue credit cards to ensure that those granted credit cards are in the United States legally by obliging the banks to verify the identity of applicants using REAL ID-compliant documents. By opposing this amendment the Senator helped illegal aliens remain in the United States. The amendment failed 28-65.
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Sen. Menendez voted in favor of tabling Sen. Jeff Sessions' amendment to the 2009 Omnibus Spending Bill (H.R. 1105). Sen. Sessions' amendment would have reauthorized the E-Verify program for a period of five years. The E-Verify program had received several short-term extensions (H.R. 1105 contained a short-term extension). The Senate leadership decided to table Sessions amendment rather than allow a floor vote. By supporting the tabling of Sen. Sessions' amendment your Senator opposed the long-term reauthorization of E-Verify and harmed American workers. The final vote was 50-47 (10 March 2009, 5:27 PM)
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Sen. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez 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. Menendez 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. Menendez 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez 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. Menendez voted in favor of 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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Rep. Menendez voted againstH.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. H.R. 4437, as amended and passed, includes major improvements in interior enforcement and border security, as well as a reduction in legal immigration numbers. Among its most significant provisions are: a requirement that all businesses must use an electronic system to check if all new hires have the legal right to work in the country; additional security fencing along the Mexican border; a mandate that the federal government cooperate with local authorities in picking up all illegal aliens they detain; and elimination of the visa lottery program that each year awards 50,000 green cards to randomly selected winners. H.R. 4437 passed by a vote of 239 to 182.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Sullivan Amendment to H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The Sullivan Amendment requires full implementation of the automated entry-exit system that was instituted by Congress in 1996. As well, it requires the removal of unlawfully present aliens unless they fear persecution at home or are seeking asylum. It also reinforces the important role of state and local law enforcement in the fight against illegal immigration. The Sullivan Amendment failed by a vote of 163 to 251.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Norwood Amendment to H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The Norwood amendment clarifies the existing authority of State and local law enforcement personnel to assist in the apprehension and detention of illegal aliens. As well, it requires DHS to: (a) provide training assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies; (b) reimburse state and local entities aiding in immigration enforcement; (c) continue the Institutional Removal Program (IRP), which guarantees that dangerous or criminal aliens who have been incarcerated, are removed and not released into the community; and, (d) expand the IRP to all states and, in so doing, authorizes state and local law enforcement to detain illegal aliens for up to 14 days. Further, it authorizes $1 billion for State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grants and prohibits state and local law enforcement who fail to aid or cooperate with federal government enforcement from being reimbursed for alien incarceration costs. This amendment would not only help deter future illegal immigration, but gradually begin to reduce the current 10-12 million illegal alien population in the United States. The amendment passed by a vote of 237 to 180.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Hunter Amendment to H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The Hunter Amendment would shore up security by building fences and other physical infrastructure to keep out illegal aliens. Specifically, it mandates the construction of specific security fencing, including lights and cameras, along the Southwest border for the purposes of gaining operational control of the border. As well, it includes a requirement for the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a study on the use of physical barriers along the Northern border. The Hunter Amendment passed by a vote of 260-159.
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Rep. Menendez voted against H. Amdt. 288 to H.R. 2862, the the Science, Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce Appropriations, 2006 Act. The amendment, offered by Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) would deny federal funding to states and cities that are in violation of section 642(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. This is the provision that specifically prohibits state and local governments from enacting sanctuary policies that bar public officials, including police officers, from asking an individual's immigration status to determine eligibility for public services and from reporting illegal aliens to federal authorities. 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 Tancredo Amendment would have created an incentive for states and cities to follow federal law prohibiting policies that protect illegal aliens, criminal aliens, and, potentially, terrorists. The amendment failed by a vote of 204 to 222.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of the Obey amendment (H. Amdt. 144) to H.R. 2360, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The Obey amendment provided $100 million to fund grants under the REAL ID Act to assist States in conforming with minimum drivers’ license standards. The Obey amendment passed by a vote of 226-198.
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Rep. Menendez voted against an amendment (H. Admt. 138) to H.R. 2360, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006. The amendment would deny federal homeland security funding to states and local governments who refuse to share information with Federal immigration authorities. The amendment, offered by Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), would have created a huge incentive to rescind the policies that protect illegal aliens, criminal aliens, and, potentially, terrorists, by denying them some Federal funding. Sanctuary policies bar public officials, including police officers, from asking an individual's immigration status to determine eligibility for public services 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 amendment failed by a vote of 165 to 285.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Norwood Amendment, to H.R. 1817, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Norwood (R-GA), clarifies the existing authority of State and local law enforcement personnel to assist in the apprehension and detention of illegal aliens. This amendment would not only help deter future illegal immigration, but gradually begin to reduce the current 10-12 million illegal alien population in the United States. The amendment passed by a vote of 242 to 185.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the H. Amdt. 206 to H.R. 1815. The amendment authorizes 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 245-184.
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Rep. Menendez voted on the floor of the House against H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act. This legislation would set federal standards for the issuance of drivers' licenses and require proof of "legal presence" in order to obtain a driver's license. This would make illegal aliens ineligible for drivers' licenses. As well, H.R. 418 would tie the driver's license expiration date of a temporary visa holder to the expiration date of their visa so that those who enter the country legally as visa holders, but become illegal aliens by overstaying their visas will not have a valid driver's license after the date of the expiration of their visa. In addition, H.R. 418 includes provisions to broaden the terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and deportability of aliens, and to complete construction of the San Diego border fence. H.R. 418 would deter illegal immigration by making it more difficult for illegal aliens to enter and to remain in the United States. It also would reduce significantly the risk that terrorists will be able to game our asylum system or avoid removal because of loopholes in our immigration laws. H.R. 418 was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 261-161.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of the Nadler Amendment to H.R. 418. The Nadler Amendment was an amendment to strike Section 101 of H.R. 418. Section 101 of H.R. 418 is the section includes reforms of our asylum laws to prevent terrorists from gaming our asylum system. Specifically, it includes provisions to ensure that our asylum system is consistent with our justice system in which the trier of fact is always allowed to use the credibility of the defendant and witnesses in deciding the case. Requiring an asylum claimant to bear the burden of proof is consistent both with our justice system and with international law, which says we must grant asylum to an alien who has been persecuted or has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion (the five grounds agreed upon in the Geneva Convention). The Nadler Amendment failed by a vote of 185-236.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the rule that incorporated the Manager's Amendment to H.R. 418 (H. Res. 75). H.R. 418 was brought to the House floor for consideration under a rule that incorporated an amendment by the bill's sponsor, Chairman Sensenbrenner. Because the rule included the amendment, a vote for the rule did two things: 1) like any rule for consideration, it established the time limits for debate of the bill and permitted the debate to begin; and 2) it added the text of the Manager's Amendment to the original bill. The Manager's Amendment included the following changes to strengthen the provisions of H.R. 418: requires immigration judges to determine an alien's credibility before granting relief or protection from removal; limits deportable aliens' ability to stall their deportation by filing endless appeals in court; and strikes both the section of the bill that explicitly recognizes states' ability to issue "driving certificates" that do not comply with the standards, and the provision that permits the Department of Homeland Security to regulate such alternative licenses. The Manager's Amendment also included a provision to eliminate the cap of 10,000 per year on the number of asylees who may apply for adjustment to permanent resident status after residing in the U.S. for at least one year following the grant of asylum. However the rest of the provisions of the Manager's Amendment more than make up for this provision, since asylees already are virtually assured permanent resident status eventually. The Manager's Amendment passed by a vote of 228-198.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Ose Amendment to H.R. 10, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. The Ose Amendment would have ensured completion of the last 14 miles of the San Diego border fence. This would serve as a physical barrier to additional illegal immigration. While the border fence will segment the habitat of a few species and cause localized habitat destruction in the immediate construction zone, it will reduce the widespread destruction of habitat for all species that is caused by large numbers of illegal aliens trampling through pristine areas, leaving huge quantities of trash and human waste, and building campfires that too often turn into devastating wildfires. The Ose Amendment passed by a vote of 252-160.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Green Amendment to H.R. 10, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. The Green Amendment would have made all terrorist-related grounds of inadmissibility, grounds of deportability, as well. This would have strengthened immigration law with regard to the deportability of alien terrorists. The Green Amendment passed by a vote of 283-132.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of the Souder Amendment to H.R. 10, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. The Souder Amendment would have given all security screening personnel access to law enforcement and intelligence information maintained by DHS. The Souder Amendment would have helped security screeners identify and stop illegal aliens. The Souder Amendment passed by a vote of 410-0.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of the Smith Amendment to strip from H.R. 10 the asylum provision that reaffirmed that the burden of proof is on the asylum claimant, and that the adjudicator may require corroborating evidence "where it is reasonable to expect such evidence." This would have made it harder for terrorists to receive asylum in the U.S. by no longer allowing them to claim that the tenets of a terrorist organization are a "political opinion" for which their home government would persecute them if they are denied asylum. The Smith Amendment failed by a vote of 197-219.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of the Smith Amendment to H.R. 10, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. The Smith Amendment would have stripped the expanded expedited removal provision from H.R. 10 that requires DHS to utilize expedited removal in the case of all aliens who have entered the U.S. illegally and have not been present in the U.S. for 5 years. This is the provision that had the potential to dramatically increase deportations of illegal aliens by eliminating the appeals process. Somewhere around 2.5 million illegal aliens could be subject to the expedited removal provision. The Smith Amendment failed by a vote of 203-210.
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Rep. Menendez voted against H.R. 10, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. H.R. 10 represented the primary legislative response in the House of Representatives to the recommendations of The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9-11 Commission). The 9-11 Commission made several recommendations with regard to immigration that, in the Commission's opinion, would increase security and help prevent a future attack. Many of the Commission's immigration recommendations were included in H.R. 10 such as provisions to: prohibit driver's licenses to illegal aliens; expedite removal of illegal aliens; increase Border Patrol and ICE agents; and prevent Federal agencies from accepting or recognizing consular ID as valid proof of identity. H.R. 10 passed by a vote of 282-134.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of a Motion to Recommit with Instructions on H.R. 10, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. H.R. 10 represented the primary legislative response in the House of Representatives to the recommendations of The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9-11 Commission). The 9-11 Commission made several recommendations with regard to immigration that, in the Commission's opinion, would increase security and help prevent a future attack. Many of the Commission's immigration recommendations were included in H.R. 10 such as provisions to: prohibit driver's licenses to illegal aliens; expedite removal of illegal aliens; increase Border Patrol and ICE agents; and prevent Federal agencies from accepting or recognizing consular ID as valid proof of identity. The Motion to Recommit, introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), would have effectively stripped ALL of the immigration provisions from H.R. 10, thus removing all of the measures that were based upon the immigration-related recommendations of the 9-11 Commission. The Motion to Recommit failed by a vote of 193-223.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of a Motion to Instruct Conferees on S. 2845, the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. S. 2845 represented the primary legislative response in the Senate to the recommendations of The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9-11 Commission), however, it contained NO effective immigration provisions. Alternatively, H.R. 10 represented the primary legislative response in the House of Representatives to the 9-11 Commission. It contained provisions to prohibit driver's licenses to illegal aliens; expedite removal of illegal aliens; increase Border Patrol and ICE agents; and prevent Federal agencies from accepting or recognizing consular ID as valid proof of identity. The Motion to Instruct Conferees on S. 2845 encouraged the Conferees to strip the expedited removal, asylum, and secure ID provisions of H.R. 10 from the final bill. The Motion to Instruct Conferees failed by a vote of 169-229.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of the Menendez Amendment to H.R. 10, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. H.R. 10 represented the primary legislative response in the House of Representatives to the recommendations of The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9-11 Commission). The 9-11 Commission made several recommendations with regard to immigration that, in the Commission's opinion, would increase security and help prevent a future attack. Many of the Commission's immigration recommendations were included in H.R. 10 such as provisions to: prohibit driver's licenses to illegal aliens; expedite removal of illegal aliens; increase Border Patrol and ICE agents; and prevent Federal agencies from accepting or recognizing consular ID as valid proof of identity. The Menendez Amendment would have stripped ALL of the immigration provisions from H.R. 10, thus removing all of the measures that were based upon the immigration-related recommendations of the 9-11 Commission. The Menendez Amendment failed by a vote of 203-213.
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Rep. Menendez voted in favor of the Oxley Amendment (H. AMDT 754) to strip the Culberson Amendment from H.R. 5025, the Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations bill. The Culberson amendment would have prohibited the Treasury Department from using any of the funding in the bill to publish, disseminate, authorize or enforce regulations that permit or allow financial institutions to accept the Mexican matricula consular ID card. The Culberson amendment was intended to send a clear message to the Treasury Department and to financial institutions that Mexican matricula consular ID card is neither a secure nor acceptable forms of ID. While it would not have actually required Treasury to change the current regulations which permit financial institutions to accept consular ID cards (rules governing amendments to appropriations bills would not permit such a requirement), it would have made those regulations unenforceable, which is a strong incentive for Treasury to change them. Rep. Oxley offered an amendment to strip the Culberson Amendment from the bill. The Oxley Amendment passed by a vote of 222-177.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Hayworth Amendment (H. AMDT 745) to H.R. 5006, the Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations bill. The amendment would have prohibited any funding in the bill from being used to pay Social Security Administration (SSA) employees to administer any benefits that would not be payable but for a totalization agreement with Mexico. The effect of this would be to prevent the U.S.-Mexico totalization agreement from taking effect -- at least during FY 2005 -- since SSA employees could not be paid for any work they do to determine or pay benefits under the agreement. The U.S.-Mexico totalization agreement would allow both legal AND illegal aliens working in the United States to qualify for Social Security benefits. The amendment failed by a vote of 178-225.
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Rep. Menendez cosponsored S. 2381, the Safe, Orderly, Legal Visas and Enforcement Act of 2004. Introduced by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), H.R. 4262 included an amnesty that would grant Legal Permanent Resident status to certain illegal aliens (and their spouses and minor children) who have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years and worked for an aggregate of 2 years. Virtually all of the 10.3 million illegeal aliens estimated to have been living in the U.S. in March 2004 could have qualified for this amnesty, along with their spouses and children. As well, H.R. 4262 would have significantly increased overall immigration numbers by increasing the number of family visas and exempting from the family-based visa ceiling all immediate relatives. H.R. 4262 also contained guestworker provisions that would have increased the annual limit on H-2B visas to 100,000 and created a new H-1D visa for up to 250,000 guestworkers a year who are not covered by other visa categories.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the King Amendment (H. AMDT 655) to the Commerce, Justice, State, Appropriations Act of 2005, H.R. 4754, that would have increased funding to the Justice Department for enforcing current federal law against sanctuary policies for illegal aliens. Sanctuary policies bar public officials, including police officers, from asking an individual's immigration status to determine eligibility for public services 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 King Amendment would have allowed the Justice Department to more fully enforce federal law against policies that protect illegal aliens, criminal aliens, and, potentially, terrorists. The amendment failed by a vote of 139-278.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Goode Amendment to H.R. 4200, to authorize the Secretary of Defense to assign members of the military, under certain circumstances, to assist the Department of Homeland Security in the performance of border control functions. The Goode Amendment passed the House by a vote of 231-191.
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Rep. Menendez voted against H.R. 2359, the Basic Pilot Extension Act of 2003. H.R. 2359 would extend for five years the voluntary workplace employment eligibility authorization pilot programs created in 1996. This program is an important component of preventing illegal aliens from taking jobs from those who have the legal right to work in this country. H.R. 2359 passed the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 18 to 8 before being brought up on the suspension calendar. Because it was brought up on the suspension calendar, no amendments were allowed to be offered to the bill and the bill needed a two-thirds majority in order to pass. Thus, even though a majority of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 2359 (231-170), it failed because a two-thirds majority did not vote in favor of it. However, the Basic Pilot Extension Act eventually passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent as S. 1685. Then, the House passed by voice vote S. 1685 and it was signed by the President, becoming Public Law No. 108-156.
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Rep. Menendez voted against the Hostettler Amendment to H.R. 1950, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act. The Hostettler Amendment would have put some major restrictions on consular-issued ID cards that are frequently issued to illegal aliens by foreign governments. These cards make it easier for illegal aliens to gain government services and to otherwise profit from their illegal activity. The Hostettler Amendment passed by a vote of 226-198.
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Rep. Menendez voted AGAINST the Goode Amendment to H.R. 1588, to authorize members of the military, under certain circumstances, to assist the Department of Homeland Security in the performance of border control functions. The Goode Amendment passed the House by a vote of 250-179.
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Rep. Menendez cosponsored of H.R. 1684, the Student Adjustment Act of 2003. H.R. 1684 would have granted in-state tuition and amnesty to illegal aliens under the age of 21 who had been physically present in the country for five years and were in 7th grade or above. Such a reward for illegal immigration serves as an incentive for more illegal immigration.
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Rep. Menendez cosponsored H.R. 773, the 21st Century Access to Banking Act. H.R. 773 would have authorized financial institutions to accept matricula consular issued in the United States as a valid form of identification. This would have allowed illegal aliens to use the non-secure and non-verifiable matricula consular ID card to open bank accounts in the United States, thus making it easier for illegal aliens to live and work in the United States.
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Rep. Menendez was a cosponsor of H.R. 1918, the Student Adjustment Act of 2001. H.R. 1918 would have granted in-state tuition and amnesty to illegal aliens under the age of 21 who have been physically present in the country for five years and are in 7th grade or above. Such a reward for illegal immigration serves as an incentive for more illegal immigration.
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Rep. Menendez cosponsored the Gephardt amnesty bill, H.R. 5600. This bill would have created an amnesty for an estimated 6.5 million illegal aliens who had lived continuously in the U.S. for five years prior to enactment of the bill. In addition, H.R. 5600 would have changed the way in which the annual cap on family-based legal immigration is figured, increasing chain migration by about 250,000 a year. Although Rep. Menendez would have left Border Patrol in place somewhat slowing the flow of illegal aliens, he would have sent the word to the rest of the world that if they can get past the Border Patrol or come in legally on a visa and then illegally overstay the visa, they will be rewarded with a route to U.S. citizenship.
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Rep. Menendez voted against 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. Menendez 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. Menendez 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. Menendez 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. Menendez 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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Rep. Menendez voted not to enforce the border by voting AGAINST 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. Menendez, along with 151 other House Democrats, signed a letter to President Clinton saying he would sustain a veto of an end-of-session appropriations bill if it did not include an amnesty. This was an action in support of Rep. Conyer's amnesty act, H.R.4966, that would have granted amnesty to some 3.4 million aliens from Central America and Haiti. This would have been the largest amnesty in the history of the country -- larger than even the 1986 IRCA Amnesty.
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Rep. Menendez voted AGAINST enforcing the border by opposing the Traficant amendment to H.R.4205. This amendment authorizes the Secretary of Defense to assign, under certain circumstances, 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. Menendez co-sponsored H.R.3553 which would have rewarded almost 1.2 million illegal aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti by putting them on the path to U.S. citizenship. This amnesty would have been IN ADDITION to the one passed in 1997 for almost one million Cubans, Nicaraguans and other long-time resident illegal aliens from Central America.
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Rep. Menendez helped create pressure in Congress to reward illegal aliens by cosponsoring H.R.2302. The bill would have allowed over half a million Central Americans who had been living in the United States illegally since at least 1991 to apply for legal residence, thus putting them on the path to U.S. citizenship. An expanded version of this bill eventually was passed by Congress when it was slipped into an appropriations bill for the District of Columbia (see the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act of 1997).
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Given the chance to vote against a notorious pro-illegal immigration program called Section 245(i), Rep. Menendez declined. The Section 245(i) 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 supposed 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 -- if passed -- would make it clear that the House wanted the Conferees to kill the Section 245(i) program. Immigration lawyers lobbied the House vigorously to keep what to them was a lucrative program. Rep. Menendez was part of a 268 to 153 House majority that refused to “instruct” the Conferees to kill the program. Despite the vote, House Conferees worked hard to kill the program and succeeded.
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Rep. Menendez 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. Menendez voted AGAINST the Gallegly Amendment to H.R.2202. That amendment 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 to participate in programs to keep illegal aliens from taking jobs.
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Rep. Menendez voted IN FAVOR of the Chabot Amendment to H.R.2202. He was part of a coalition of pro-business conservatives and liberal civil libertarians who tried to use the amendment to kill the establishment of a voluntary pilot programs in high-immigration states. The programs were intended to 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. Rep. Menendez was unsuccessful in stopping the voluntary verification system. The Chabot Amendment failed by a 159-260 vote.
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Rep. Menendez cosponsored H.R.36, thereby working to put about one million illegal aliens from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti, including their spouses and children, on a path to U.S. citizenship. He joined with those who believe that illegal aliens should not be forced to return to their own countries if
those countries were hit by Hurricane Mitch. These illegal aliens came to the U.S. years before the hurricane and failed to qualify as refugees or asylees. Rep. Menendez advocated rewarding those who violated U.S. immigration laws by making them permanent lawful U.S. residents.
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Tell Senator Menendez what you think of
his immigration record. |
| Phone: |
(202) 224-4744 |
| Fax: |
(202) 228-2197 |
| E-Mail: |
email available via website. | | Website: |
http://menendez.senate.gov/ |
| D.C. Address: |
528 Hart, U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
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District Offices | One Gateway Center
Suite 1100
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 645-3030 (V), (973) 645-0502 (F) |
208 White Horse Pike
Suite 18
Barrington, NJ 08007
(856) 757-5353 (V), (856) 546-1526 (F) |
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