House Passes $600 Million Border Bill, Sends it Back to Senate

Today, the House
of Representatives passed a $600 million dollar supplemental border
funding measure, which will be considered again by the Senate in
September.

The
following is a statement from Lynn Tramonte, Deputy Director of
America's Voice:

"At the
President's request, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate are
about to send millions more taxpayer dollars to the broken border. It's
no coincidence that this 'emergency supplemental' is on the agenda just
before the August recess. We've read this story before, and we know
how it ends. The bill will be approved and politicians will go home and
brag to their constituents about how tough they are, without solving a
thing.

"Since
2002 we have more than doubled the amount of money we're spending on
immigration enforcement, but we still have millions of undocumented
immigrants in the U.S. When will our leaders in Washington own up to
the fact that we cannot solve this problem by deporting people? The
American people know that, and that is why they support comprehensive
immigration reform.

"The only
real solution is one that combines smart border enforcement with a
crackdown on employers who violate labor and immigration laws and a
program that requires immigrants in the U.S. illegally to register with
the government, study English, and pay taxes on their way to becoming
full U.S. citizens. A comprehensive solution addresses all aspects of
the problem and will store rationality to our nation's irrational
immigration laws.

"By
bringing the border bill forward, Democratic leaders say they are hoping
to court Republicans who have refused to negotiate on comprehensive
immigration reform until the border is "secure." But who decides it's
"secure," and when, and how? Already, Republican Members of Congress
are saying the bill doesn't go far enough. The fact is, Republican
senators and representatives have made a political decision not to work
with Democrats on comprehensive immigration reform because they think
this is in their electoral interests. They are wrong. Not only are
they alienating Latino voters with their anti-immigrant rhetoric, but
they are irresponsibly blocking a solution that America desperately
needs.

"Unless
and until Congress addresses comprehensive immigration reform, the
system will remain broken and voters will remain frustrated with
Washington's failure to fix it. The border supplemental may buy
politicians something to talk about over August recess, but it's a cheap
substitute for real reform."