Congress Passes More Border Enforcement

On August 10 by a voice vote Congress unanimously passed a $600 million bill (HR 6080) to increase border security that headed to the President’s desk for his signature. The bill will provide $305.9 million for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including 1,000 new Border Patrol Agents and $29 billion for new Customs and Border Protection.  It is fully funded through fee increases to business visa categories.  

SIREN is extremely disappointed that the only major immigration legislation passed thus far in the 111th Congress is an enforcement-only bill.  Unfortunately, this effort came from key leaders in Congress who are also leading the efforts for comprehensive immigration reform.

The White House, Senator Schumer and Senator Reid all issued press statements claiming that this border security bill is a step forward in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform. However, passing enforcement-only bills have not moved us forward. In fact,  both Senator Kyl and Senator McCain, said that even though this is a step forward in securing our borders, it is not enough and claim it is merely a step in the right direction.