dole.senate.gov
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, along with Sens. Sessions, DeMint, Grassley, Bunning and Vitter, today wrote to President Bush and introduced a Senate resolution calling on the Administration to implement current border security and enforcement measures that have been authorized, but have not been fully executed. In addition, Dole and Sessions held a press conference today highlighting the significant shortcomings in the enforcement of existing laws.
“The federal government’s failure to carry out the immigration laws on the books sends the message that this country is not really serious about securing our borders and communities and stemming the flow of illegal aliens,” said Dole. “We don’t need more empty promises – we need real proof that our borders are secure and that our laws are enforced. Until we show that we mean business, the American people will rightly remain skeptical of so-called comprehensive immigration reform.”
Dole and her colleagues have called on the Administration to take the following steps:
1) Implement the entry and exit portions of the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (U.S.-VISIT) as required under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996;
(2) Reverse the United States Treasury Department decision to allow financial institutions to accept the Mexican matricula consular cards as valid identification for the purpose of opening bank accounts;
(3) Enforce legally binding affidavits of support signed by sponsors of immigrants sign;
(4) End the practice of catching illegal immigrants at the border and returning them without prosecution;
(5) Enforce the employer sanctions contained in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986;
(6) Enforce §505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which prohibits in-State college tuition for illegal immigrants;
(7) Require prosecution of anyone caught smuggling immigrants across the border illegally regardless of how many immigrants are being smuggled;
(8) Increase the number of full time Border Patrol agents by at least 1,306 by the end of fiscal year 2007 as authorized by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
(9) Increase the number of detention beds for illegal immigrants by at least 15,944 by the end of fiscal year 2007as authorized by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
(10) Increase the number of full time immigration investigators by at least 1,600 by the end of fiscal year 2007 as authorized by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004;
(11) Comply with the Secure Fence Act of 2006 by building over 700 miles of fencing along the international border between the United States and Mexico;
(12) Increase the use of expedited removal procedures for all illegal immigrants eligible for expedited removal under United States immigration laws; and
(13) Expand the Immigration Violators File in the NCIC database to include information on aliens with final orders of removal, aliens with expired voluntary departure agreements, aliens whom Federal immigration officers have confirmed are unlawfully present, and aliens whose visas have been revoked.