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Providing Border Resources

Though the Senate was unable to reach agreement on a comprehensive immigration bill, Congress can still do a number of things to help secure our borders.

I recently joined with my colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and other Senate Republicans, to add a measure to the Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would provide over $3 billion in additional resources to help secure our borders.

The measure would make funds available for a total of 23,000 Border Patrol agents, four unmanned aerial vehicles, 105 ground-based radar and camera towers, 300 miles of vehicle barriers, and 700 miles of border fencing. It also would bring an end to the "catch-and-release" policy by funding an additional 45,000 detention beds.

The resources would also go toward expanding a federal government program that helps employers determine the eligibility of workers. Known as the Employment Eligibility Verification Program (EEV), it's an online-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration, to assist employers in determining employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their social security numbers. The system is currently available to all employers to voluntarily use.

Arizona, however, recently passed a new law which will require all employers in the state to use the EEV, and would levy heavy sanctions on employers who fail to comply.

It's unfortunate that states have had to fill the void of enforcing our immigration policies because the federal government has failed to adopt immigration reform legislation - especially dealing with employer verification. However, since the Department of Homeland Security will be increasingly called upon to provide information to states, I wanted to ensure it would have the capacity and capability of doing so.

To that end, one of the elements of the amendment enhances the EEV by improving the reliability of the basic pilot program to respond to state inquiries regarding the eligibility of new hires. Having failed to pass legislation, the federal government at a minimum, should assist our state enforcement agencies and employers, by creating the most robust database possible that is easy to use and accessible.

While I am pleased Senate Republicans have been able to add this measure to the overall a bill, a similar, broader measure was also introduced, but was struck down by the Democratic majority. The measure included additional law enforcement tools to secure the border and improve interior enforcement, such as: requiring mandatory detention of aliens who overstay their visa by 60 days; increasing penalties for illegal entrants who are criminals and those who reenter after a deportation; and reimbursing local governments who choose to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in enforcing existing immigration laws.

While we've taken promising steps to provide additional resources to secure our borders, this in no way is the final solution to our border security and immigration problems. . Since the Senate was unable to reach agreement on a comprehensive immigration bill this summer, I will continue finding ways and legislative vehicles to provide whatever resources are necessary to help secure our borders and restore the rule of law.

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