Issue Position: Immigration

Issue Position

With over 2,000 miles stretching from California to Texas along the southern border and 7,500 total border miles, keeping the United States safe and immigration under control are no easy tasks. Between 12 and 20 million illegal immigrants are in the country. That number is growing by 850,000 annually. These numbers are too large to ignore. Appropriate action must be taken at the federal level to address the effect illegal immigration has on our population, workforce, economy, and overall safety of our society.

Illegal immigration is a crisis for the United States as it provides an open door for drugs, criminals, and potential terrorists to enter our country. It is straining our economy by adding costs to our judicial, healthcare, and education systems.

Our nation needs a comprehensive immigration plan that includes hiring more border security agents and installing new technology to detect illegal immigrants trying to cross the border. We must reform the visa application process to remove the current backlog in the system, and enforce strict penalties for those who come here illegally. We can still be a nation with welcoming arms while maintaining a secure border.

Congressman Murphy opposes amnesty because it will only encourage more illegal immigrants to enter. Our nation is in need of an immigration policy overhaul to prevent illegal immigration, yet welcome those who choose to come to the U.S. legally. Those who have entered the country unlawfully should not be allowed to go to the front of the line and be permitted to stay here.

Amnesty explicitly excuses the illegal act of crossing the border outside the legal process and implicitly excuses other related illegal acts such as driving with a fake license and using false work documents. Most importantly, our normal immigration procedure involves screening to block potential criminals and terrorists from entering the United States. Under an amnesty program, millions of illegal aliens who have avoided this screening will be allowed to permanently bypass it. The risk this poses is too great to allow or to overlook.

During the past session of the House of Representatives, Congressman Murphy cosponsored the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act (H.R. 4088). This bill would increase border security, provide more spending for workplace enforcement of immigration laws and require employers to verify workers' status through a Department of Homeland Security database. It would also add 8,000 Border Patrol agents and increase aerial surveillance of the border.
During the 110th Congress, Rep. Murphy also supported the Social Security for Americans Only Act, H.R. 190, introduced by Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. This bill would prohibit wages and income earned by non U.S. citizens from being credited to the Social Security Administration. In addition, H.R. 736, the No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act of 2007, introduced by Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) on February 7, 2007, would disqualify illegal immigrants from receiving social security benefits for any period of time worked while they were illegal aliens.
The need to secure our borders is one of the many reasons for the debate over immigration policy. As we consider immigration reform, we must balance our nation's safety with its history as a place that for generations has welcomed others. This is a nation built by immigrants.

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