By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Thursday Congressman Mike Rogers (R) from Saks said in an email to constituents that “no one should be allowed to jump to the front of the line when others are trying to come to our country the right way.”
Representative Rogers wrote, “Folks across East Alabama can’t flip through the television channels without hearing about Washington’s latest debate: immigration reform. Right now our country is home to millions of illegal immigrants. Even though America is a land of immigrants, it’s also a land of laws. People across the world want the opportunity to pursue the American dream and have done so through legal immigration. But having people break the law to enter our country illegally has become an out-of-control crisis.”
Rep. Rogers said, “I truly believe no one should be rewarded for this bad behavior, nor be allowed to jump to the front of the line when others are trying to come to our country the right way. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has promised the Senate will vote on immigration reform by early July. The Senate bill boils down to nothing more than amnesty for those who’ve illegally come to our country, and I will not support it.”
The conservative Congressman said, “Senator Reid has also decided his comprehensive immigration reform bill won’t include any real measures to further secure our porous borders. That just doesn’t make sense.”
Rogers said that President Obama has worked to undercut existing immigration enforcement laws. Roger said, “For example, John Morton, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), led an effort to implement parts of the DREAM Act, a proposal that never passed Congress, and wasn’t truthful about releasing thousands of known criminal aliens from ICE lockups in February.”
Representative Rogers called on Morton to resign in March. Morton has announced he will resign next month. Rogers wrote, “This provides an opportunity for the president to nominate another director. Recently, I wrote President Obama saying if he wants Congress to get serious about immigration reform, he should start by nominating someone who’s serious about enforcing our immigration laws.”
The “Gang of Eight” authored immigration reform bill is working its way through the Democratic controlled U.S. Senate. Amendments to strengthen the enforcement and border security provisions have been largely defeated making passage of the bill in the Republican controlled House much less likely. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) from Ohio recently called the enforcement provisions in the Senate bill, “Laughable.”
Congressman Mike Rogers represents Alabama’s Third Congressional District. Before being elected to the Congressional Seat formerly held by Bob Riley (R), Mike Rogers represented Calhoun County in the Alabama House of Representatives.
