Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act

By U.S. Senator Jon Kyl According to a new Rasmussen poll, 71 percent of Americans do not think the federal government is doing enough to secure the border and reduce illegal immigration. I'm surprised the number isn't higher. As Rasmussen concluded, "the government currently has little credibility in this arena;" and that led to the defeat of the immigration reform bill in July. Enhancing enforcement in ways that will help restore public trust requires: 1) using existing laws and authorities to the fullest extent possible to stop illegal immigration; and 2) strengthening the law to add new and more effective programs and penalties. On August 9, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an aggressive program to enforce existing law, including a requirement that employers fire workers whose Social Security documentation does not "match" federal government information. This is a welcome and encouraging step; and the President should know that, when the inevitable backlash from employers and immigration rights groups occurs, he will have the support of 79 percent of adult Americans, who favor this enforcement strategy (again, according to Rasmussen). Unfortunately, there is still no mandatory electronic employee verification system (the "no-match" notification only identifies a small percentage of violations). Nor are there adequate procedures and penalties to deal with visa overstayers, who represent 40 percent of the illegal immigrant population. To deal with these and other deficiencies in current law, I recently introduced the Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act, which includes 72 provisions adding significant new legal authorities, resources, and needed changes to existing law. Almost all of the provisions in this bill were included in (or were amendments to) the bill that failed to pass the Senate in July. The first thing this legislation does is speed up the control of the border by accelerating enhancements to physical infrastructure, including checkpoints, roads, vehicle barriers, fencing, and surveillance technology. Under this bill, DHS could not build any less than 700 miles of fencing on the southern border, and 370 miles must be completed by the end of next year. Next, this bill would authorize 6,000 National Guardsmen to remain at the southern border and, over the next six years, add 14,000 new agents to the Border Patrol, as well as 6,125 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and personnel. To prevent those who arrive legally from overstaying their visas, this legislation adds new criminal penalties and establishes a system for identifying overstayers and ensuring that state and local law enforcement agencies are notified of their status. For aliens who entered this country illegally, criminal penalties would also be increased. Perhaps the most important part of the bill addresses the problem of workplace enforcement. Current law does not work well because it is not mandatory for all employers, and documents used to establish identity are easily counterfeited. Without a federal employee verification requirement, states like Arizona have had to act on their own, passing state laws requiring employers to verify employment. But the state law relies on the same inadequate federal database. Since it would be preferable for the federal government to enforce federal immigration law, my legislation would mandate a new Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS) that would enable employers to certify workers by electronically verifying their Social Security numbers through the Social Security Administration and improving identity verification through DHS. It would also require government departments to share key information with each other and develop an accurate database (this is currently a big problem). This system will make it much easier for employers to determine whether job applicants are legally eligible to work in the country. But, employers who violate the law could be subject to civil penalties ranging from $5,000 to $75,000 per illegal immigrant hired and criminal penalties of up to $75,000 and six months imprisonment. The bill makes additional changes in the law to bring it up to date, enhancing penalties to provide real deterrence and making it easier to enforce. For those who contend we should "enforce the law first," this bill identifies virtually everything needed to strengthen current law so it can be enforced. And for those who believe in a more comprehensive solution, this bill offers a very strong enforcement component. Combined with DHS's new enforcement strategy, passage of this bill would begin to restore the public's confidence in the ability and willingness of the federal government to reduce illegal immigration and restore the rule of law.