Jon Kyl, August 13, 2007

Enforcing our immigration laws and maintaining secure borders is the job of the federal government, and the American people want Congress to act. But because the federal government has failed to meet its responsibility of enforcing the law and securing the border, the American people are understandably frustrated and do not trust the government to deal with the problem of illegal immigration. If Senators learned anything from the recent debate of immigration reform, it’s that the American people want the federal government to enforce the law.

And yet, during that debate, I pointed out that enforcing the law also had to include changing some of the existing laws (because they aren’t enforceable as written) and adding stronger ones. I recently introduced the Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act of 2007, which includes roughly 72 changes in existing law to provide better enforcement against illegal immigration.

The first thing this legislation does is speed up the control of the border by adding surveillance technology and enhancements to physical infrastructure, including checkpoints, roads, vehicle barriers, and fencing. 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.

Security at the border, however, is not enough to stem the problem of illegal immigration. Procedures should also be in place to prevent those who come here legally from staying illegally.

This legislation will expand criminal penalties against aliens who knowingly overstay their visas, and provide that those who overstay their visas by 30 days can be detained. And, once a nonimmigrant alien overstays his visa, this legislation would stipulate that all visas in his possession are void. If he wishes to return to the U.S., he would have to leave this country and undergo additional screenings at consulates abroad.

For aliens who entered this country illegally, criminal penalties would also be expanded.

Another aspect of interior enforcement is workplace enforcement. The current law does not work well, among other things, because documents used to establish identity are easily counterfeited.

This legislation works to ensure employers can easily and accurately identify those workers who are lawful. Violating the law and knowingly hiring illegal immigrants could result in 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 for employers.

A new Employment Eligibility Verification System is established to certify the eligibility of workers by verifying electronically their Social Security numbers through the Social Security Administration and DHS and improving identity verification.

The debate we had a few weeks ago on immigration reform should not deter us from doing what is needed to secure our borders and reduce illegal immigration. By doing nothing, we are tacitly endorsing the status quo, which is unacceptable. By fixing the enforcement laws that are broken, Congress can demonstrate to the American people that their government is willing, and able, to enforce the law. And that, in turn, could establish the credibility we need to tackle other aspects of the problem of illegal immigration.

Senator Jon Kyl, a Republican, represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate. He serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.