WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Democrat majority in the U.S. House passed a measure Wednesday that would provide amnesty for those who entered the country skirting federal laws – part of a "comprehensive" approach to reforming the nation's immigration laws.
Illinois Democrats – including Rep. Cheri Bustos (17 CD), Lauren Underwood (14 CD) and Sean Casten (6 CD) – voted against a Republican effort to close a loophole in H.R. 6 that allows members of criminal street gangs to earn citizenship.
"Their shameful decision proves they have no issue putting the rights of criminal illegal immigrants before those of law-abiding citizens," NRCC Spokeman Michael McAdams said in a press release.“Every voter will be constantly reminded that the socialist Democrats voted to grant citizenship to dangerous gang members.”
Bost opposes
When H.R. 6 came before the full U.S. House, Republican House members, including U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (12 CD) and Darin LaHood (18 CD) voted against he House Democrats’ plan, called the American Dream and Promise Act, that would offer no provisions for additional border enforcement and cost taxpayers an estimated $34.6 billion.
“Plain and simple, Nancy Pelosi’s immigration plan rewards people for breaking our laws,” said Bost. “It puts those who come here illegally ahead of those who respect our immigration process. I believe we have a humanitarian and national security crisis on our border, and I’ve voted twice to fix it. Unfortunately, this bill fails to fix the problem, leaves our border unsecured, and costs the taxpayers tens of billions of dollars in the process. We must do better.”
LaHood also opposed the measure.
“Both Republicans and Democrats in Washington recognize the need to reform our broken immigration system, yet the legislation put forth by Democrats today will only exacerbate the ongoing humanitarian crisis we are seeing at our southern border,” Rep. LaHood said. “In just the last month alone, Customs and Border Protection has averaged over 4,500 apprehensions of people per day at the southern border. Congress should be investing in infrastructure to bolster security at the southern border, fixing loopholes in our current immigration laws, and giving Border Patrol agents the resources they’ve requested to keep our country safe. This bill fails to address any of these issues.”
The Humanitarian Crisis at the Southern Border
- The number of individuals apprehended at the border in this fiscal year (last seven months) has already surpassed every fiscal year since 2009
- In May, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended over 4,500 individuals per day on average
- Border Patrol has encountered over 180 large groups (groups with over 100 individuals)
- CBP has identified over 3,000 potentially fraudulent family units, with aliens either borrowing, renting, or buying children because they know they will be allowed into the United States
H.R. 6 Fails to Address the Crisis
- H.R. 6 will provide mass amnesty to millions of people
- H.R. 6 will encourage fraudulent green card applications, as individuals can withdrawal applications without any repercussions
- H.R. 6 does not include enforcement provisions and does not exclude individuals who have committed immigration fraud
Despite passing the House with overwhelming Democrat support, H.R. 6 is expected to face strong opposition in the U.S. Senate.
