Illegal Immigration

Amnesty

Congressman Hunter has a 27 year record of fighting illegal immigration and promoting border security. As a member of Congress with a Southwest border district heavily impacted by the effects of illegal immigration, Rep. Hunter has steadfastly opposed amnesty proposals, including voting against the 1986 amnesty law, while tirelessly working to strengthen border security. Amnesty is not the answer. In fact, it encourages a whole new wave of illegal immigrants who seek to catch the next amnesty.

America has one of the most generous immigration policies in the world. It is unacceptable that we allow millions of people to sneak in the back door of our country when the front door is available. We have tried amnesty and it does not work. We must enforce and, as necessary, tighten our immigration laws and secure our border–it is a matter of national security.

Border Fence

As part of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform Act (P.L. 104-208), Rep. Hunter authored the legislative language mandating a 14-mile triple fence along the San Diego-Mexico land border, which augmented the single layer fence he had built with surplus landing-matt in 1989. Since then he has worked, most notably against strong opposition of the Clinton Administration, to see that project completed. Since construction of the San Diego fence began:

· Illegal alien apprehensions along the fenced region dropped from over 202,000 in 1992 to about 9,000 in 2004. Further, it is estimated that the apprehensions vs. attempts ratio increased to over 90%;
· With the establishment of the San Diego border fence, crime rates in San Diego have fallen off dramatically. According to the FBI Crime Index, crime in San Diego County dropped 56.3% between 1989 to 2000;
· Vehicle drive-throughs in the region have fallen from between 6 to 10 per day before the construction of border infrastructure, to only 4 drive-throughs in 2004 and those occurred only where the secondary fence is incomplete;
· The fence has forced drug smugglers, who once easily crossed the San Diego border, to attempt to enter the U.S. through major ports of entry instead. This significantly increases the likelihood of discovery and seizure of illegal narcotics entering our country.
As a result of the success of the San Diego fence, Rep. Hunter authored the provisions of the Secure Fence Act calling for the construction of 854 miles of border fence along the five most prolific smuggling corridors on the Southwest border. While construction of the Secure Fence project is not moving as rapidly as Rep. Hunter would like, the Administration is moving forward and as of September 30, 2007, 70 miles of new border pedestrian fence has been constructed. Congressman Hunter remains engaged in ensuring that the Administration meets the mandates put in place by the Secure Fence Act and secures our borders as rapidly as possible.

Birth Right Citizenship Reform

Congressman Hunter opposes summarily bestowing citizenship on people who have crossed our borders illegally. Therefore, he is a cosponsor of H.R. 1940, the Birthright Citizenship Act, grants automatic citizenship only to those who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen. The Constitution has been interpreted to grant U.S. citizenship to any person born on U.S. territory. The unintended consequences of this policy has been thousands of women a year illegally cross our international border, often in dangerous circumstances, to give birth to their child in the U.S. and thereby guaranteeing that child U.S. citizenship.

Employer Verification

One of the strongest draws to the United States for illegal immigrants is our economy and enticing job market. It is critical that we remove this incentive for illegal migrants. As a result, Rep. Hunter has cosponsored H.R. 19, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to implement a nationwide employment verification system. Employers need to have an easy, reliable and efficient system to verify an employee’s status and there must be real consequences imposed on employers who willfully break the law and employ illegal immigrants.

Border Patrol Agents

Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were convicted for what amounted to procedural violations in their attempted apprehension of drug smuggler, Aldrete-Davila, along the Southwest border in Texas. For reasons that remain unclear, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton used his prosecutorial discretion to indict Agents Ramos and Compean on a weapons charge that carries a 10-year mandatory sentence. Given the evidence and circumstances of the case, this indictment against these Border Patrol Agents was completely unjustified.

In addition, information has come forward since the agents’ convictions that the drug smuggler, who was granted immunity, received free medical care and a humanitarian visa for his testimony against the agents, was involved in another drug smuggling incident just 8 months later.

Understanding the miscarriage of justice that has been perpetuated against these agents, Rep. Duncan Hunter has introduced H.R. 563, legislation granting a congressional pardon to the agents. While this has never been tried before and some argue that it is unconstitutional, legal advisors have stipulated that it has never been adjudicated and that there are some indications that such an action would be valid. Regardless, since the agents remain in jail, Rep. Hunter believes it is appropriate to try this course of action. 102 of his House colleagues agree and have cosponsored the legislation.

In addition, Rep. Hunter is circulating a letter amongst his colleagues to ask the President to reevaluate his previous position and immediately pardon the agents.

Finally, Rep. Hunter and Rep Poe offered an amendment to the Commerce Justice and Science Appropriations Act, which funds the federal Bureau of Prisons, to bar any funding included in the bill to be used for the incarceration of the two agents. The amendment passed by voice vote. Now it is hoped that the Senate will follow the House’s lead.