Border Security Can Be Implemented Without Senate Bill

On June 12th, nine U.S. Senators wrote a letter to President Bush urging him to fulfill the border security provisions listed in the Senate immigration bill whether the legislation passes or not. Each border security trigger in the bill can be implemented under current law without any need for new legislation from Congress. The text of the letter is below:

The following is excerpted from http://demint.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=JimsJournal.Detail&Blog_ID=63

Dear Mr. President:

We respectfully ask that your Administration enforce the border security laws that have already been authorized by Congress regardless of whether the Senate passes the immigration reform bill. The bill assumes that several critical border security benchmarks can be achieved within 18 months. These security triggers are already authorized under current law and can be completed without the immigration bill. We believe these enforcement measures are vital and should not wait until Congress passes additional immigration reforms.

Securing the border is the best way to restore trust with the American people and facilitate future improvements of our immigration policy.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R - South Carolina), Tom Coburn (R - Oklahoma), Mike Enzi (R - Wyoming), David Vitter (R - Louisiana), Jim Inhofe (R - Oklahoma), Jim Bunning (R - Kentucky), Charles Grassley (R - Iowa), John Ensign (R - Nevada) and Jeff Sessions (R - Alabama).

The above is excerpted from http://demint.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=JimsJournal.Detail&Blog_ID=63