U.S. Border Control

House immigration bill was its more important immigration reform in a decade

By Congressman Tom Tancredo
January 10, 2006

Late last year, the U.S. House of Representatives did something unusual. It passed the most important immigration reform bill in a decade, a bill which requires construction of a security fence along the border with Mexico, requires federal and local law enforcement to cooperate on immigration matters, and mandates that employers use an instant check system to verify their employees' legal status.

Yet some would show disregard for the legislation and the threat that the current immigration anarchy poses over the short and long term to our nation, pompously dismissing the security fence as nothing more than the creation of a ‘gated’ community.

The security fence is supported by 60% of Americans. Nearly half the Democrats in the house voted for it. Therefore the border fence is one of the most popular provisions in the reform bill, because it is effective.
We have built a fence near San Diego, and at that location there is virtually no illegal migration or cross-border gang activity.

Some dislike the bill's mandatory employer verification, but getting rid of the American magnet that is the jobs will be an effective and fair way to fix the problem.

Currently, the U.S. doesn’t penalize employers who hire illegals. In 2005, the U.S. government sent only three notices to businesses announcing that it intended to fine the business for hiring illegal employees.

Yet the Department of Homeland Security has an online instant check system, running for seven years now, which provides an inexpensive way for businesses to check the people they hire, and avoid these fines in the first place.

I believe that America's economy has much more to fear from illegal immigration than it does from fixing the system.

Leading economists have clearly demonstrated that the wages of low-skilled American workers have stagnated in the past decade. This time the economy's rising tide has failed to lift all boats, and heartland Americans know that such a labor situation is not economically sustainable.

But Illegal immigration also poses another threat.

Three of the 19 September 11, 2001 hijackers were in this country illegally. It doesn't take a terrorist mastermind to recognize opportunities our porous borders invite. The terrorist attacks shook our economy, some industries are still recovering years later. Another terrorist attack could permanently damage our economy.

That’s not a risk even economists can afford to take.