Rep. Kenny Marchant Supports Border Control, Opposes Amnesty

Cross posted from Red Hot Cuppa Politics

I received a letter from my Representative, Kenny Marchant. It's good news, and I'm thinking I've been a little unfair to him.

The letter's a page and a half long, via snail mail, and he signed it.

Here are the cognizant points:
 

1) He supported the House bill on immigration reform, and will not back down on it.2) He agrees with the President on border control, and expanded detention facilities, and there's an "Operation Streamline," a joint cooperation between Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Local Law Enforcement which will expedite prosecution and removal. Tbat's a good thing, if they'll really do it.

3) In October, 2005, he joined with 22 Texas Congressmen to sign and present a letter to President Bush, saying that there should be no new guestworker programs, or any extension of the number of lawful residents in our country, until there's better enforcement of immigration laws. In short — he opposed amnesty.

4) He's a member of the Immigration Reform Caucus, so write or call him if you've got something on your mind….

Here's his website http://www.marchant.house.gov

Here's a link to his report card on immigration — but I'd give him a little better than a B+. He's a freshman Congressman, and has done some gutsy things in terms of sticking his neck out. I'm hoping he has sense enough to stay clear of the William Jefferson debacle, but Marchant's getting my vote.

I'd scan the letter into the computer the technical geniuses in my house are either at camp or working, and I don't want to let this one wait …

Above photo is from his website, taken on a recent visit to Laredo.

Click to the CoalitionBlog for the freshest on immigration. Amboy's got a great article on border bribery. Cowgirl quickly slices through a MSM article about the "poor illegal immigrants, forces to cross the border inconveniently." If you haven't read it yet, don't miss Christi's "It's Immigration, Stupid!"

Matthew, over at the PoliticsOfPrudence, who can be simultaneously thoughtful and ascerbic has a very interesting article on how we're a nation of immigrants — and how the current situation doesn't reflect that.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let Brian know at which level you would like to participate**

New immigration rule targets employer records

Cross posted from Morning Coffee

WASHINGTON — As a massive immigration overhaul remains hung up in Congress, the Bush administration continues to highlight a new, tougher approach to border security and immigration law enforcement.

Following last month's announced crackdown on employers who hire illegal workers, the administration on Friday said it was proposing a new rule that would hold employers more accountable for investigating workers whose Social Security numbers do not match government records.

As many as a tenth of the 250 million wage records yearly include names and Social Security numbers that do not match the names and numbers in Social Security Administration records, the department said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the rule would "help us to identify and prosecute employers who are blatantly abusing our immigration system."

Putting the Rule in place is one thing, I want to see the rule enforced before I believe they are serious about it.

The proposed rule appears to be aimed at showing the hardliners among House Republicans that the administration is serious about enforcement as the House and Senate prepare to negotiate the stark differences between their bills.

The House version increases border security and interior enforcement efforts only. The Senate version also includes a guest worker program and a citizenship process for illegal immigrants already here, a provision the House GOP rejects.

Full Story here

As much as I firmly believe that the whole immigration system needs a complete overhaul, I just as firmly believe the Senate version of the bill is not anything close to what this nation needs. The first step in addressing the illegal immigration problem must be to secure the borders. This is a National Security issue and in the age of global terrorism this issue trumps all others. The second step is to enforce Laws already on the books. The proposed rule change provided it is aggressively enforced is a good step in that direction. After those two steps are completed or at least significant progress towards their completion is made, then and only then can we implement other immigration policies with any hope of their being successful.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.**