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This was a very significant and exciting week in the fight for immigration reform. I was named chairman of the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over immigration and border security issues; the House Judiciary Committee approved my bill to reform Americas refugee program; and I voted for, and the House passed two immigration enforcement bills.

As you know, immigration reform is an issue close to my heart and one Ive worked on for a long time. Thats why I am honored to be the new Chairman of the House Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee.

I was tapped for the position on Tuesday, and I will have the responsibility for the rest of the 115th Congress. As chairman, I will prioritize legislation that enforces our laws, secures our borders, and modernizes our immigration system for the 21st century.

Thats what the people of Idaho want, and thats what they deserve. I will do everything I can to deliver.

The very next day, the House Judiciary Committee approved my bill to reform Americas refugee program: The Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act. As Americans, we have a long tradition of helping refugees who, through no fault of their own, are fleeing war and persecution and wish to become contributing members of our society.

However, our first priority when it comes to Americas refugee program is ensuring the safety and security of the American people. There are already documented cases of terrorists infiltrating the program, and with ISIS vowing to exploit it further, the time for congressional action is now.

My bill modernizes Americas refugee program to keep pace with todays security challenges. It enacts stronger vetting of refugees, gives states and communities the power to decline resettlement, and lowers the annual refugee ceiling and shifts to Congress the authority to make changes in that figure.

Overall, my bill will protect the integrity of the refugee program, reduce fraud, and improve national security. To learn more about my bill, please read my op-ed with House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte in the Washington Times here.

Then, on Thursday, I voted for and the House passed two immigration enforcement bills: Kates Law and The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act. Kates Law increases penalties for deported felons who return to the U.S., like the illegal alien who killed Kate Steinle in San Francisco two years ago. The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act combats dangerous sanctuary policies that shield illegal aliens from federal immigration enforcement. These bills include provisions from my immigration enforcement bill, H.R. 2431, the Davis-Oliver Act.

With Speaker Paul Ryan and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, I spoke at a press conference in support of these bills. I emphasized that governments at all levels have a basic responsibility to protect our citizens from those who are here illegally and especially from those who commit crimes. For too long, the federal government has looked the other way while sanctuary cities violate the law and undermine public safety. The bills I voted for this week bring common sense to an issue where common sense is desperately needed. To watch me speaking at the press conference, please click here.

This is just the beginning. I look forward to having a House vote on the Davis-Oliver Act and additional legislation that the House Judiciary Committee is working on, including mandatory E-Verify.

Fixing our broken immigration system starts, first and foremost, with enforcing the law. By completing that vital first step, we will be positioned to modernize our immigration system and bring it into the 21st century.

This column was submitted by U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle.

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Steps forward on immigration reform | Columns | idahostatejournal ... - Idaho State Journal

Guillermo Leal, left, of Mexico, and Mohinder Singh, of India, take the oath of citizenship at a naturalization ceremony in Austin, Texas, on June 29, 2017.(Photo: Jay Janner, AP)

The Fourth of July has long been a day when foreigners swear their oath of allegiance to the United States to become citizens. It is an annual reminder that the U.S. has been a nation of immigrants since its founding 241 years ago.

That tradition will continue this holiday period, when nearly 15,000 people will be sworn in as U.S. citizens atdozens of naturalization ceremonies, from George Washington's Mount Vernon estate in Virginia to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans to the ship deck of the USS Hornet off the coast of California.

What's changed dramatically over the decades is where those immigrants come from, what roles they play in the U.S.,how they're treated by nativecitizens and the debate over the millions who have entered the United States illegally over past decades.

Today, immigrants make up 13.5% of the U.S. population 32million here legally and an estimated 11 million illegally. The percentage islower than the massive influx during the late 1800s but far morethan the immigration slowdown that followed World War II.

Read more: Immigrant entrepreneurs add jobs, revenue as debate rages on

Read more: 'Slums into gold': Asian immigrants bring new economic life to Phoenix area

Read more: Dream catchers: Immigrants make mark on U.S. economy, labor force

While Mexico has provided the largest flow of immigrants during the past generation, an increasing number of people are now arriving from Asia, Africa and other Latin American countries. They are changing the makeup of U.S. cities and stretching into small towns unaccustomed to all the new faces.

The flow of foreign-born people into the U.S. as legal visitors and undocumented immigrants continues to shape the nation's economy in profound, and highly contested,ways.A landmark study from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicinelast year found that first-generation immigrants cost U.S. taxpayers $57.4 billion a year.

President Trump cited that figure during his first address to a joint session of Congress in February as a reason to restrict immigration a key theme of his 2016 campaign. But he omitted the second half of thereport's sentence: that second- and third-generation immigrants createa net benefit of $30.5 billion and $223.8 billion respectively.

The report's bottom line is that immigrants are a big plus for the U.S. over time. Yet Trump continues to focus on the negative aspects of immigration.His administration has increased arrests of undocumented immigrants, implemented a temporary travel ban on people from majority-Muslim countries and all refugees as an anti-terrorism move and pushes for a border wall with Mexico.

And in the days leading up to the holidayweekend, Trump voicedsupport for bills passed bythe House of Representatives on Thursday to increase jail terms for undocumented immigrants and withhold federal money fromso-called "sanctuary cities" that protect them.

"Trump's radicalism on immigration is unprecedented in modern times," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, a Washington, D.C.-based immigrationadvocacy group. "There's a historic challenge to our nation's tradition of welcoming refugees and immigrants. It's up to us whether we are going to survive this era and emerge with a stronger sense of inclusive patriotism that makes us proud."

Trump's supporters disagree with that assessment, arguing that the president is simply following through on his campaign promises to stop the flow of illegal immigration and support acontrolled level of legal immigration that serves U.S. economic interests.

Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that advocates for lower levels of immigration, said Trump won in part by promising to reform the immigration system to help, not hinder, the plight of struggling American workers. Mehlman said there is "no evidence" that the Trump administration has discriminated against legal immigrants, or that it's conducting mass roundups of undocumented immigrants.

"Some of this hysteria is being hyped and whipped up by the advocates, telling people, 'You're under siege,'" he said. "If you tell them that enough, they start to believe it. All Trump is doing is recognizing that laws are meant to protect American workers."

The battle over the proper role of immigration in the U.S. won't let up anytime soon. Trump's temporary travel ban is in effect, his administration will continue pushing for a border wall and immigration supporters continue mobilizing to fight back on all fronts.

Only one thing remains certain: As we celebrate our nation's birthday, thousands of people will raise their right hand, swear their oath and become the latest members of the United States of America.

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2tCeVYj

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Immigrants facing new reality this Independence Day - USA TODAY

Kate's Law is named after a San Francisco woman who was killed by a man with a long record and multiple deportations. Huber cited the case of Millard County Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox, who was killed in 2012 by Roberto Miramontes Roman, who was deported three times before killing Fox.

"Stiffer penalties for re-entry offenders make sense," Huber said. "The status quo is just not deterring the criminals from returning."

The "No Sanctuary for Criminals Act" limits federal funding to cities who declare themselves "sanctuaries" for illegal immigrants. On that bill, Huber said, "removing unnatural impediments between local and federal law enforcement will enable the coordination we need in this country to keep our neighborhoods safe."

Huber doesn't have any sanctuary cities in his state, but Utah does have police agencies, including some of the largest, that have resisted enforcing federal immigration laws in the course of doing their jobs. That is because it interferes with the course of doing their jobs. Residents without documents won't call the police, even when they need them, if they think it will get them deported.

And Huber seems to understand that.

In a 2014 Tribune story about prosecuting a crime involving immigrant victims, Huber, then a prosecutor in the office he now runs, talked about catching the offenders, not the victims. "What motivates a prosecutor is when you have a vulnerable community with predators amongst them taking advantage of them."

So 2014 Huber hit it straight on the nail. We all want violent criminals caught, but extending immigration enforcement to every person without documentation ends up making communities less safe, not more.

Versions of the two House bills have been kicking around for a while, and they are just two bills of many that show Congress' lack of resolve to truly tackle immigration at scale. Enforcement and local police roles could be better defined in a comprehensive approach that includes border security, visa reform and a path to legality for law-abiding immigrants. Pulling at one or two strings won't unwind the knot. It will take a patient, productive legislative body and a president who wants it to happen.

In the meantime, the White House sticks to its xenophobia, and Utah's U.S. Attorney is one of the few Obama appointees to squeeze through the sieve to work for the Trump administration.

John Huber is in a delicate position.

The rest is here:
Tribune Editorial: Don't piecemeal immigration reform - Salt Lake Tribune

Dennis Nixon has a whole lot to say and a lot of people to convince. So, dont be surprised if you find yourself trying to get in a word edgewise with the Laredo businessman, as I did on a couple of recent occasions.

Nixon, you see, is a man on a mission hes passionate about immigration reform and he thinks its time we stop yapping about it and do something. All the obsession with border security, immigration crackdowns, Senate Bill 4, building a wall, deporting 11 million people all of it, he says is just burying our heads in the sand to deny something America needs to come to grips with: our country needs immigrant labor.

Right about now, some of you might be saying Nixon is just another one of those out-of-touch liberals. In fact, Nixon, a Republican at heart though hes supported candidates in both parties over the years is the chief executive of International Bancshares Corp. and International Bank of Commerce in Laredo. He also served as Texas finance chair for the Donald J. Trump for President campaign. Thats right Donald Trump, the chief proponent of immigration crackdowns, a border wall and mass deportations.

COMMENTARY: How the U.S. can achieve fact-based immigration reform.

I thought of Nixon the other day while reading news reports about Texas companies struggling to find workers in construction and other industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor, a large segment of the states workforce that includes many people who are in the country illegally. The Austin-based Workers Defense Project estimates that about half of all construction workers in Texas are in the U.S. illegally.

Business owners tie the shortages to immigrants who are spooked by a new one-two punch: the federal crackdown by the Trump administration, and Senate Bill 4, the new Texas law that bans so-called sanctuary cities. Opponents call it the show me your papers law because it allows police to ask about the immigration status of anyone they stop. Critics warn it will lead to profiling.

Experts agree its too early to quantify the effect of worker shortages, though business are rattled just the same.

Everyones on pins and needles, Craig Regelbrugge, a horticulture industry spokesman, told the AP. The farms that produce the food Americans eat need more workers to harvest the crops, he said.

Frank Fuentes, chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association in Austin, told me that immigrant workers are leaving Texas jobs at construction sites, hotels, restaurants and farms for what they perceive to be friendlier states, such as California. But Fuentes said he fields calls daily from other states, too. They ask me, Hey, whats happening? Were losing our folks?

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Even before the latest reports, Nixon said agriculture and service industries were already hurting from worker shortages. Immigration crackdowns are the wrong remedy, he told me earlier this month.

We should be finding a way to build an immigration stream into our country, not try to impede it, Nixon said. He thinks America needs an immigration policy that addresses a need for about 600,000 to 650,000 low-skilled workers every year to keep the economy growing.

Millennials arent interested in filling low-skill jobs, Nixon said, echoing the business owner who told the AP that the Americans he hires for construction jobs dont last more than half a day. Immigration is an obsession now, Nixon added, but the greater threat to prosperity and security is a declining U.S. birth rate below replacement level. With 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, we have a demographic crisis he said.

With its emphasis on illegal immigration crackdowns, the current political climate is out of touch with reality along the Rio Grande, where Nixon has lived for nearly half a century. The flow of immigrants who illegally enter the country, for example, has declined dramatically in the last 20 years, from about 1.6 million to about 400,000, he said, citing federal figures.

But thats not the picture Trump painted when he announced his run for the presidency. He described a border overrun by Mexican criminals and rapists and promised a border wall that Mexico would pay for. Theyre not.

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Nixon thinks the wall is an expensive, stupid alternative.

So, how does he square his thoughts on the wall with his support for the president?

Well, lets say he thinks cooler heads will prevail. No serious person, he said, thinks you can build a wall from El Paso to Brownsville with any kind of reasonable expectation it will be successful.

Quick, someone get that message to the president.

Castillo is the Viewpoints editor.

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Castillo: Why talk of immigration reform also has employers on edge - MyStatesman.com

The issue of immigration and border security is more complex than the political debate in Washington and on cable television would lead the public to believe. It is also easier and far less costly to solve than many of the plans introduced by leading politicians and pundits.

The current reality on the Texas-Mexican border as well as much of the border outside of Texas is that the flow of immigrants who illegally enter the United States has declined sharply in recent decades, from 1.6 million to about 400,000.

Today, the border is still faced with an illegal entry problem from individuals mostly from Central America coming to the United States in the hope of participating in the American Dream. These economic migrants are basically law-abiding people who are seeking work because their country of origin has not given them a chance to succeed.

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While immigration is a national obsession, theres a much greater and more real threat to American prosperity and national security: The U.S. birth rate is now 1.9 births per female, well below replacement level. And with 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, the demographic outlook is bleak.

Future GDP growth above 2 percent on a sustained basis will be an enormous challenge in the face of the demographic winter that will have a huge impact on the world over the next several decades. We need an immigration policy that addresses Americas need for workers about 600,000 to 650,000 low-skilled workers every year to keep our economy growing.

In addition to fact-based immigration reform, there are two things the U.S. Border Patrol seeks along the Texas-Mexico border: visibility of the river and access to the river. Both can be easily achieved simply by cleaning up the riverbank along the Rio Grande. The salt cedar and Carrizo cane are invasive plants that are not native to Texas. Their density becomes a hiding place for immigrants and criminals who illegally enter the United States.

Once these invasive plants have been eradicated, an all-weather river road should be built to provide U.S. Border Patrol Agents access to patrol the riverbank. Coupled with modern technology such as motion detectors and infrared sensors, this enhanced natural buffer zone is a far more effective barrier to entry than a tremendously expensive man-made barrier.

Yes, more can be done to smartly and cost effectively improve border security. However, the reward for enhancing apprehension is only as good as the legal process supporting it; otherwise, the process only becomes a catch-and-release program.

VIEWPOINTS: The Statesmans editorial writers tackle local and national issues.

Today, with the rapid decline in illegal immigration, the problem squarely rests on an inadequate judicial system. Simply said, we need more immigration courts. Through October 2016, more than a half-million cases were awaiting adjudication in U.S. immigration courts. Border Patrol executives put the wait time at 1,000 days. In order to clear the backlog of these half-million cases by 2023, Congress would need to double the number of immigration judges.

To solve the border security problem, we must look to reasonable and commonsense solutions that benefit the United States and Mexico. We must support a border security plan with Mexico our third-largest trading partner that continues to foster economic development and our good neighbor policies that have been in place for generations.

Nixon is CEO and chairman of the board of International Bancshares Corp. and International Bank of Commerce.

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Commentary: How the US can achieve fact-based immigration reform - MyStatesman.com