The House of Representatives firmly rejected H.R. 6136, the Goodlatte-Ryan-Denham Amnesty bill, today by a vote of 121-to-301. The bill received 72 fewer votes than H.R. 4760, the Securing America's Future Act, which fell just 20 votes short of passage last week.
H.R. 6136 would have given permanent amnesty to at least 1.8 million illegal aliens with only promises of future enforcement. While the legislation did appropriate nearly $25 billion for border security, the funding could have been rescinded by a future Congress or President. In the event that the funding was rescinded, illegal aliens would still keep their legal status, they would just lose their special path to citizenship.
The bill also failed to fully satisfy Pres. Trump's 4 immigration pillars by only ending some chain migration categories. The legislation would have left the parents category -- the largest of the family chain categories -- still in place. By leaving the category in place, illegal aliens who received the amnesty would be able to reward their parents with green cards once they became citizens.
Key negotiators for the bill had filed an amendment earlier in the week that would have added mandatory E-Verify to the legislation. It would have also made significant reforms to the Ag guestworker program and expanded the H-2B low-skilled guestworker program. But House Leaders decided against holding a vote on the amendment.
"This bill means more amnesty and less enforcement. It gives amnesty to millions and will lead to the widespread use of fraudulent documents to obtain amnesty. The bill also allows millions of illegal immigrants to stop their deportation simply by claiming they are eligible for amnesty," Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who opposed the bill, said in a statement following the vote. "And there is no guarantee that any border structure will be built. It’s amnesty today and border security sometime in the future, if then. The bill also omits workforce verification, which is the most effective tool to fight illegal immigration and save jobs for American workers."
For a roll call of the vote on H.R. 6136, click here.
