Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong opposition to HR 4437, the Border Security, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act.  This bill is not about border security or terrorism prevention, as the name implies.  HR 4337 is a one-sided, mean-spirited approach that will not solve our nation’s immigration problems.  The Republicans are so fearful of real reform that they did not even allow a vote on the President’s own guestworker program or a bipartisan comprehensive border security and immigration plan, such as the Kolbe-Gutierrez bill.  Instead, we are stuck voting on a bill that is opposed by almost every reasonable business, labor, civil liberties, and religious advocacy group in the country, and which has no chance of passage in the Senate. 

For our own security, it is of vital importance to know who is entering our country and who is here.   Our current border policy of “catch and release” is not working.  We need real security, but we also need to address the eight to fourteen million undocumented immigrants currently in our country. 

I am disappointed that this bill veers away from the bipartisan approach that we took in the Homeland Security Committee.  While our bill was not perfect, Chairman King and Ranking Member Thompson were able to draft a proposal the entire Committee could support.  During markup, I was pleased the Committee accepted my amendment to require radiation portal monitors to be installed at ports of entry within one year.  This is an example of a common-sense measure that protects all Americans from the risk of terrorists smuggling nuclear weapons across our border.  While this provision is included in HR 4377, the bill before us today also includes several egregious provisions that do very little to keep us safe from terrorists. 

Should this bill become law, millions of undocumented immigrants, including young children, already in our country will automatically become felons, subject to imprisonment.  Aside from the cost of tracking down these newly charged felons, who will be entitled to a government funded public defender, and jailing them, we must also consider the economic and social costs to our country. 

Many undocumented immigrants play an important role in certain industries that depend on temporary or seasonal work.  Their vital role in the economy explains why this bill is opposed by every major business group.  For this reason, Democrats and the President support a temporary guestworker proposal, but this bill contains no such acknowledgement of our country’s economic needs. 

Instead, under HR 4377, these immigrants would never be eligible for any guestworker program like the one requested by the President.  People who have been living, working, paying taxes, and raising families in our country for 20 years, will now be pushed into a new underclass.  Many of these families have children who are US Citizens.  Not only will this bill tear families apart, but by defining illegal immigrants as felons, this legislation could also create a backlash against anyone who appears to be of foreign origin, most of whom are here legally. 

In addition, the bill criminalizes assistance to undocumented immigrants, even if provided by church or non-profit volunteers.  Now, if a person shows up at a church’s doorstep hungry, the church will provide that person something to eat.  However, under the terms of this bill, if that person happens to be an undocumented immigrant, the person who provided the food will be subject to up to 5 years in prison, and the church would have its property seized and sold to the highest bidder.  These kinds of punitive responses do not represent the values of the American people. 

We need comprehensive immigration reform in the mold of HR 2330, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, which I am proud to support.  This bill would secure our borders, require immigration status verification by employers, and create a path to citizenship for currently undocumented workers, while not penalizing those who are patiently waiting for legal entry to our country.  This type of reform addresses the fact that it is unrealistic to track down and deport every undocumented immigrant, but it others from entering our country illegally in the future.  Unfortunately, the House leadership did not permit so much as a vote on this measure, as they knew it would likely pass, and their conservative base would be upset by real reform. 

This bill before us today is a farce.  The leaders of the House know that this bill will never see the light of day in the Senate.  They have given us an unrealistic proposal to gain favor with their most vocal supporters.  Their bill is so outlandish that it is opposed by nearly every advocacy group in the country: from the AFL-CIO to the US Chamber of Commerce, and ACLU to Americans for Tax Reform.  I cannot think of another measure where these groups were united.  I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing H.R. 4437 and instead support comprehensive immigration reform.