Since the House passed our version of the immigration reform bill in December, our position has been to pass a bill that focuses on border security first. Today, as part of our efforts to communicate this position and ensure we don’t end up with a bill like the Kennedy-McCain bill that passed the Senate, the Republican Conference unveiled five principles that reflect our position.
Our goal is to send a bill to the president that reflects these principles:
• Republicans strongly support initiatives to secure our borders and provide additional resources to federal and state authorities to strengthen border patrol efforts.• Republicans strongly support strengthening enforcement and stiffening penalties for illegal immigrants who break our immigration laws.• Republicans support enforcing the law on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and holding them accountable.• Republicans oppose efforts to reward the behavior of illegal immigrants who have made the choice to break our laws.• Republicans believe the success of our country depends on newcomers obeying the law, assimilating into American society by learning English, and embracing our common identity as Americans.
We know the American people are with us on these points. Throughout the summer, House Republicans will be working together to take our message directly to the people through congressional field hearings, border visits, and other events. Hopefully, these efforts will help shift the debate enough to convince the Senate to adopt a border security first bill.