Our current immigration system is broken, and we need strong, serious changes to our current laws.  We are a nation of laws and we must continue to keep Americans safe, and although America is also a nation of immigrants, those wishing to enter the country need to come here legally. To keep America strong and prosperous, we need an immigration system that works for the American people. Our approach to combating illegal immigration must be comprehensive and include permanently securing our border, enforcing the rule of law, and reforming current processes.

Current rules incentivize illegal behavior and don’t prioritize the needs of America’s economy. We must take the necessary steps to deter people from coming to our country illegally and that begins with enhancing our border security and constructing a physical barrier along our border. We can also help to deter illegal immigration by ending chain migration, implementing E-verify, and replacing the visa-lottery system with a merit-based system. I have supported several pieces of legislation to close these loopholes and secure the integrity of our immigration system:

Fix the Immigration Loopholes Act closes three major immigration loopholes to ensure the safety of migrant children and uphold the integrity of our asylum process. The sovereignty and the integrity of our generous immigration system has been undercut by abuse and major policy flaws. Closing those loopholes will help keep this country secure and keep migrants safe.

HR 250, Legal Workforce Act amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require American employers to utilize the E-Verify system to confirm that all future hires are eligible to work in the United States.

 H.R.479, SAFE for America Act ends the visa lottery system that grants green cards through a random lottery with no regard to work experience or educational background.

H.R. 891, Nuclear Family Priority Act ends chain migration by eliminating extended family visa categories that allow U.S. citizens to sponsor extended, non-nuclear family members.

It is still against our current laws to attempt to enter our country illegally, and those who do will be apprehended. Rewarding those who have broken our laws and cut in line is not the answer. Today, thousands of inadmissible migrants arrive at our border every day and overwhelm our immigration system. We do not have the resources needed to quickly process their claims and our current immigration policy of catch-and-release is extremely flawed.  In order to remedy this, we need to invest in our Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officers.  We have laws on the books— we must ensure that our nation’s current immigration laws are enforced, immigration programs work properly, and that we provide the resources for law enforcement officials to get their jobs done. We must hire additional immigration judges and support staff, hire additional Border Patrol agents, and increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.

Congress must come together in a bipartisan way to fix our broken immigration system, permanently secure the border, enforce the rule of law, and address the root causes of the humanitarian crisis. It’s simple, our immigration policy should put Americans first. We are a compassionate nation made up of immigrants and a prosperous nation due to the rule of law. I believe we don’t have to choose one or the other. I will remain focused on ensuring that our nation’s current immigration laws are enforced, immigration programs work properly, and that we provide the resources for law enforcement officials to get their jobs done.