H.R. 2000, SAVE Act of 2011, would help reduce illegal immigration by requiring every employer in the United States to eventually use the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system to verify that every employee has the legal right to work in the United States. As well, H.R. 4088 contains other interior enforcement measures such as increasing the number of ICE agents and training at least 250 State and local law enforcement officers on how to perform federal immigration enforcement procedures.
H.R. 2164, the Legal Workforce Act of 2011, would replace the current I-9 system by making E-Verify (currently the basic pilot federal employment verification program) permanent and mandatory for all employees via a gradual phase-in process. Specifically, an employer with 10,000 or more employees has 6 months to become compliant after the bill's enactment, while employers with 500 to 10,000 employees have 12 months, employers with 20 to 500 employees have 18 months, employers with 1 to 20 employees have 24 months, and agriculture service employers have 36 months.
H.R. 1196, the LEAVE Act, would prevent illegal aliens from purchasing homes or receiving taxpayer-funded housing, stop illegal aliens from receiving Social Security payments, create a births and deaths registry in order to reduce identity fraud, end birthright citizenship, and call for fencing of the border and an increase in the number of border control agents. H.R. 1196 would also mandate the use of the E-Verify program and allow local law enforcement agencies to enforce America's current immigration laws.
H.R.1274, the Keeping the Pledge on Immigration Act, would: provide up to 4,000 additional national guard troops patrolling the southern border; reaffirm language mandating "operational control" of the border as defined in the 2006 Secure Fence Act; provide double and even triple layer fencing by September 30, 2014; organize rapid deployment unites to respond to UAE and radar detection alerts; complete of the automated exit control system by September 30, 2015; and provide additional visa security screening for high risk visas including in-person interviews and data sharing.
The bill would require each state and their local law enforcement agencies to collect and report all immigration and DWI-related information as a prerequisite for receiving State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP, a program that provides assistance to states for the incarceration of illegal aliens) funding. DWI-related information would then appear as a flag on the wants/warrants page of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
The bill would increase penalties for employing illegal aliens up to $80,000 for the first offense, up to $200,000 for the second offense, and up to $1,600,000 for the third offense. Furthermore, 80% of the fines collected would be rewarded directly to state and local authorities.
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase penalties for employing illegal aliens.
The bill would prevent Community Oriented Policing Services Program (COPS) funding from being used to uphold “sanctuary policies,” which prevent law enforcement officials in local municipalities from investigating immigration status or reporting immigration violations to Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). COPS is important to city, tribal, state, and other local law enforcement agencies because it awards grants used to update technology, hire and train police officers, and develop crime fighting strategies. Please see S.169 for the Senate Companion legislation.
H.R. 300, the Visa Wavier for Israel Act, would deem the country of Israel to be a program country for the visa waiver program (VWP), effective once Israel has complied with various State Department and Homeland Security requests that focus on national security and information sharing. The VWP allows citizens from select qualifying countries to enter the U.S. for tourism or business for 90 days or less without first obtaining a visa.
H.R. 2220, the SMART Act of 2013, would make efforts to achieve border security along the international border with Mexico. First, the bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to achieve and maintain operational control of only the Southwest border, which is defined as a 90% probability that all illegal border crossers are apprehended and narcotics and other contraband are seized.
H.R. 1292, the New IDEA Act of 2013, would amend the Internal Revenue Code so that wages and benefits paid to unauthorized aliens are not tax deductible. This bill also makes improvements to E-Verify, including permanent authorization the program, safe harbor for employees that properly use E-Verify, and permission for employers to make job offers contingent upon work authorization.
H.R. 2264, the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act of 2013, would reimburse local law enforcement agencies for the costs associated with incarcerating illegal aliens. The CLEAR Act also recognizes local law enforcement's authority to help enforce immigration law, improves information sharing between local law enforcement agencies and the federal government, and requires the federal government to expeditiously remove criminal illegal aliens.
H.R. 3611, the DHS Immigration Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013, would require the Secretary of DHS to submit a detailed annual report on immigration policy directives, covering matters ranging from previous removal statistics and the estimated number of aliens present without lawful status to the number of immigration cases closed due to immigration policy directives. In response to recent reports that the Administration is “cooking the books” on its removal numbers, detailed information is required regarding the methods by which the statistics were compiled.
H.R. 830, the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act of 2013 would help reduce illegal immigration by broadening and enhancing border security and interior enforcement measures. Perhaps the most important aspect of the SAVE Act is its requirement that ALL employers use the E-Verify electronic workplace verification program, an inexpensive, quick, and accurate way to verify the employment eligibility of ALL employees. This would go a long way toward removing the job magnet for illegal immigration.
H.R. 502, the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2013, would permanently reauthorize the E-Verify employment verification system and oblige all employers to use the system to verify that new hires are allowed to work in the United States.
H.R. 478, the E-Verify Modernization Act of 2013, would make the E-Verify program permanent, make E-Verify mandatory for all new employees after 60 days, allows employers to check existing employees, and protects employers from having to spend resources training an employee before a confirmation.
H.R. 1772, the Legal Workforce Act, would mandate E-Verify for all employers within 2 years, which would effectively end the jobs magnet for illegal immigration.
S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, was a massive immigration reform bill, introduced by the 'Gang of 8' that would result in approximately 30 million new permanent work permits issued in the first 10 years if passed. The bill would grant legal status and worker permits to an estimated 11 million illegal aliens with an opportunity for green cards after 10 years and replace some family-based immigration categories with a merit-based points system.
H.R. 15, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, was a massive immigration reform bill, introduced by Rep. Joe Garcia (D-Fla.) and was the House companion to the Gang of 8's S. 744. H.R. 15 would result in approximately 30 million new permanent work permits issued in the first 10 years if passed. The bill would grant legal status and worker permits to an estimated 11 million illegal aliens with an opportunity for green cards after 10 years and replace some family-based immigration categories with a merit-based points system.
H.R. 3141, the Biometric Exit Improvement Act of 2013 would weaken border control by exempting non-pedestrian traffic from the entry-exit system. This would exempt an estimated 25% of all border crossings from the entry-exit system and create a loophole for would-be illegal aliens who would not be subject to the exit system and, thus, could potentially overstay in the U.S.
H.R. 1417, the Border Security Results Act of 2013, addresses border security, but does little to guarantee an actual border security results. Rather than require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to gain control of U.S. Borders, this act merely requires the Secretary to submit a plan to gain operational control of only the southern borders within 5 years. Operational control is met when the DHS determines that it has apprehended and turned back at least 90% of those who try to enter the U.S. illegally.
H.R. 2278, the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act of 2013 would empower local law enforcement agents to enforce federal immigration laws. The SAFE Act would also require DHS to create a national immigration violators database, prevent cities from providing sanctuary to illegal aliens and would provide funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that reimburses states for incarcerating illegal aliens.
H.R. 2124, the Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act, does everything possible to keep the promises of internal enforcement made in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). First and foremost, it establishes mandatory E-Verify for all future hires, effectively eliminating the jobs magnet. Penalties are increased for fraud and smuggling, and so-called "sanctuary cities" lose all State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) funding.
