More Bills Seek Crackdown on Immigration

USA Today reported that: At a recent meeting of conservative leaders in Miami to discuss how they must appeal to Hispanic voters for the 2012 election, former Florida governor Jeb Bush spoke of softening the tone some have used against Hispanics. He pointed to the inflamed rhetoric used throughout the immigration debate Despite that plea, most of the bills that have been filed in the new Congress are aimed at cracking down on immigrants — both legal and illegal. There's a proposal by Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas to add 1,500 federal agents, 100 helicopters and 250 power boats to patrol the Southwest border. Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California wants to eliminate the 55,000 visas awarded through a lottery and grant them to foreigners who graduated from American colleges. GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee proposed building 20 federal prisons to house illegal immigrants, and Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa wants to alter how the 14th Amendment is interpreted so the children of illegal immigrants born in the USA are no longer granted citizenship.