In October of last year, the White House issued an extensive list of immigration principles. Among those principles were ending chain migration, mandating the use of E-Verify, fixing unaccompanied alien children and asylum loopholes, ending sanctuary cities, and improving interior enforcement. The President stated:
These findings outline reforms that must be included as part of any legislation addressing the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Without these reforms, illegal immigration and chain migration, which severely and unfairly burden American workers and taxpayers, will continue without end.
The original Goodlatte bill, H.R. 4760, addressed nearly every aspect of the President’s immigration principles, making permanent, needed changes to the immigration system. Most importantly, H.R. 4760 actually ends chain migration and deters future illegal immigration by mandating E-Verify, in exchange for amnesty only for the roughly 690,000 current DACA recipients.
The Goodlatte-Ryan-Denham amnesty, H.R. 6136, not only fails to fulfill the original immigration principles, but fails to even complete the President’s Four Pillars of required reform by ending only a portion of chain migration, while expanding the amnesty to an estimated 1.8-2.4 million illegal aliens and providing them with a special path to citizenship. Notably, H.R. 6136 retains the current unlimited visa category for parents of citizens, so the parents who chose to bring their children here in violation of the law are effectively given a path to citizenship, as well. While some interior enforcement provisions from the original Goodlatte bill were included, they have been significantly watered down and do not include mandatory E-Verify, ensuring that Congress will be having this same debate over amnesty in five or 10 years.
No amnesty. Not now, not ever!
Greg Raven, Apple Valley, CA
