Vitter to Obama: Any Action on Immigration Must Be Directed Toward Enforcement

Press Release

U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) today responded to President Obama's announcement that he will use executive action on immigration reform. Obama's announcement comes in response to an increase in the number of unaccompanied children being smuggled into the country illegally.

"This crisis shouldn't come as a shock -- obviously amnesty only encourages further illegal immigration. Any influx of children coming into the country illegally is a direct result of President Obama's failure to enforce our immigration laws," Vitter said. "President Obama's announcement today is just political theater -- he's threating Congress with more unilateral actions to get his amnesty wish-list. Sending immigration judges and lawyers to the border won't solve the problem. Any additional support must be targeted directly toward enforcement of our immigration laws."

Vitter has previously introduced a budgetary offset that would prevent illegal immigrants from claiming the Child Tax Credit intended for American citizens and legal residents by closing a loophole with the Internal Revenue System. This offset could be considered as part of a funding mechanism for Obama's request.

Vitter has also called out Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson over DHS' current practices regarding human smuggling. He wrote to DHS concerning a court order released by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas earlier this year revealing that DHS fails to penalize parents of immigrant children when their children are intercepted coming into the country illegally.

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