Let's Fix our Broken Immigration System

LET'S FIX OUR BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM -- (House of Representatives - July 09, 2009)

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Mr. POLIS. Yesterday, the Senate voted to extend the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico and to expand E-Verify, making this flawed employment verification system both mandatory and permanent for Federal contractors.

The American people don't want to see political posturing; they want to see real, meaningful immigration reform. These provisions attempt to enforce immigration laws without getting to the heart of the issue. Building a bigger wall at the U.S.-Mexico border is going to spend millions of taxpayer dollars and will not stop illegal immigration; reforming our immigration system will.

Forcing Federal contractors to implement a costly employment verification program isn't going to stop illegal immigration. Instead, a mandatory E-Verify clause would force cash-strapped small businesses to make the painful decisions between losing government contracts and spending millions of dollars on a flawed and expensive employment verification system.

It's not that we shouldn't talk about border security or employment verification. We must. These are conversations we need to have as part of a larger debate on comprehensive immigration reform, not as amendments to an appropriations bill. Instead of trying to act tough, Members of Congress should be tough and fix our broken immigration system.

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