|
Rep. Shuler reintroduces SAVE Act to reform U.S. immigration policy
Story Date: 5/27/2011
| |
Source: PRESS RELEASE, 5/26/11
U.S. Representative Heath Shuler continued fighting to fix America’s broken immigration system and open borders today by reintroducing his Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act, H.R. 2000.
The SAVE Act takes a three-pronged approach to combat illegal immigration through increased border security, mandatory worker verification, and improved interior enforcement. A bipartisan group of 29 Representatives joined Shuler’s efforts by cosponsoring the bill.
“Illegal immigration continues to be one of the most serious national security and economic problems facing our country,” said Rep. Shuler. “The American people have called on leaders in Washington to take action, yet thousands of immigrants continue to cross our borders illegally every week. The SAVE Act provides commonsense, effective solutions to strengthen border security and finally bring an end to illegal immigration.”
Originally introduced by Shuler in the 110th Congress, the SAVE Act increases border security with the addition of 5,000 Border Patrol Agents and improves infrastructure with additional fencing and vehicle barriers at the border. It also enhances existing interior enforcement by increasing the number of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and expediting the process of removing illegal aliens from the U.S.
The SAVE Act also expands and mandates E-Verify to provide American employers with the tools they need to verify that their employees are legally permitted to work in the U.S. E-verify is an effective, inexpensive, and quick way for employers to verify employment authorization. More than 200,000 employers already utilize the highly successful program on a voluntary basis.
“In order to stop illegal immigration, we must to attack the root cause – businesses offering employment to those who have come here illegally in order to pay lower wages. With millions of Americans seeking gainful employment, Congress should be working to get them back to work by preventing companies from knowingly and intentionally hiring illegal immigrants,” said Rep. Shuler.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, nearly 8 million U.S. jobs were held by illegal workers in 2010. The SAVE Act’s E-Verify provisions would expand employment opportunities for U.S. workers by separating American jobs from illegal foreign workers.
“Congress should not and cannot continue to ignore this problem. The American people expect us to act, and I will not stop fighting to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration,” Shuler concluded.
|
|
|
|
