Congressman Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) recently wrote to constituents that he believes that the Congress does have a reference point to reform America’s immigration policies without providing amnesty and that the safety of the American people is one of his highest priorities.
“One of my highest priorities is the safety of the American people,” Rep. Palmer said. “Border security and interior enforcement are paramount to that end. The House recently voted on H.R. 4760, the Securing America’s Future Act and H.R. 6136, the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act. H.R. 4760 would provide for border wall funding and strengthen interior enforcement. I am a cosponsor of and supported H.R. 4760, which also ends chain migration, mandates the use of E-Verify, and eliminates the diversity visa lottery. I opposed H.R. 6136 because it failed to include many of these provisions. Neither of these bills received enough votes to pass, but I believe we now have a reference point to reform immigration policies without providing amnesty.”
Both bills were sponsored by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) issued a statement after the House of Representatives failed to advance either of the two immigration bills, the Securing America’s Future Act (H.R. 4760) and the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act (H.R. 6136):
“Immigration reform is a very complicated, difficult, and emotional issue,” Rep. Goodlatte said. “While the failure of these two bills is disappointing, what is most disappointing is that not a single Democratic member voted for either bill. Despite the bills not achieving a majority of votes individually, between the two votes, 223 Republicans voted for legislation to secure our borders, restore the rule of law, reduce chain migration, and provide a solution for the DACA problem. I am very encouraged that we have 223 Republicans willing to do the right thing and now we need to do the hard work of finding the right combination of these two bills that can get a majority of votes in the House.”
The Republican Party controls the U.S. House of Representatives is controlled by the Republican Party; but there is wide differences in opinion on how best to reform America’s immigration laws. Border security hawks introduced a comprehensive immigration reform bill that dramatically increased border security. Pro-business Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat that bill. H.R. 6136 was a more moderate proposal that was rejected by conservatives in the GOP caucus.
Congressman Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) also voted “No” on H.R. 6136.
“As an advocate for strong border enforcement and American families who are suffering from lost jobs or wage suppression caused by a tsunami of illegal alien workers, I voted “No” this week on H.R. 6136, the “Border Security and Immigration Reform Act,” otherwise known as the “Big Amnesty Bill,” or “Ryan Amnesty bill,” Rep. Brooks wrote to constituents. “The “Big Amnesty Bill” was weak on border security and included amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. Fortunately, we killed the bill in the House. It only got 121 votes out of 435 Congressmen. On the other hand, a week earlier, I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4760, the “Securing America’s Future Act.” While this compromise bill also failed to pass the House, it received 193 votes, meaning far more in the House Republican Conference favor a strong immigration reform bill than a weak, “Big Amnesty” immigration reform bill. This bill ended chain migration, limited asylum to its intended purpose, ended the visa lottery, and, generally speaking, reformed border enforcement, interior enforcement and legal immigration in ways that would come much closer to eliminating America’s porous border problem. I fully support building the President’s border wall.”
Immigration and border security are some of the most controversial issues facing the Congress this summer.
