That's Debatable

Now that you've had more time to study the proposed immigration reform bill, how would you improve it if you had a chance to rewrite it?

Last week, the White House and the Senate announced a deal on "comprehensive illegal immigration reform" legislation. Contrary to claims by the bill's authors, it is nothing short of amnesty for 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. The bill does not go far enough in strengthening our borders or enhancing our national security. No bill is better than a bad one that may lead to even more illegal immigration. For that and many other reasons, I oppose this proposal.

Any immigration reform bill that I would consider supporting must address my concerns in the following areas:

No amnesty. Illegal immigrants must forfeit citizenship forever. Moreover, the legislation does not require illegal immigrants to pay back taxes for the time they worked illegally in the United States. The bill essentially rewards illegal immigrants with a pathway to citizenship after breaking the law. Any immigrant who crosses our border illegally ought to forfeit citizenship to the United States forever.

The bill calls for an additional 10,000 local enforcement agents, when I believe 50,000 aren't even enough. And it does nothing to give state and local police the resources to apprehend and detain illegal immigrants.The bill doesn't include language to penalize states and municipalities that don't cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Penalizing these so-called "sanctuary cities" is critical to any immigration reform bill.

We must reverse our nation's birthright citizenship policy. Children of illegal immigrants should no longer be granted automatic citizenship simply because they were born in the U.S.

The bill does not work fast enough to end chain migration. In fact, for most of the next two decades, the bill will increase extended-family chain migration by as many as four times the current levels.

New visa programs must be enforceable and expanded to high-skilled workers.

This is just the tip of my concerns with this legislation. My concerns dramatically overshadow the good parts of the bill, like enhanced employer verification and provisions requiring English-only.

I will not endorse a weak compromise that will reward illegal immigration, jeopardize our national security and damage our infrastructure.

REP. JOHN CAMPBELL

(R-Newport Beach)

Now that I've studied the bill, I can say the best way to improve the bill would be to light a bonfire and place every copy in it. The Senate has declared war on the American middle class by agreeing to a bill that would grant amnesty to 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants, and that would be a colossal mistake.

REP. DANA ROHRABACHER

(R-Huntington Beach)