Washington Times
By Stephen Dinan
July 29, 2014
House
Republicans will force a vote this week on legislation to change the
2008 law and allow illegal immigrant children from Central America to be
more quickly deported,
and overturning environmental policies that prevent Border patrol
agents from conducting robust enforcement on federal lands.
The
$659 million bill, unveiled Tuesday, would give the Obama
administration enough money to house the illegal immigrant children and
families surging across the southwest
border through the end of September — but it’s far short of the $4
billion President Obama asked for.
And
the legislation goes beyond spending to include changes to the 2008
law, as well as a prohibition on storing the children on military bases
unless certain conditions
are met, and prohibiting those with drug-related convictions on their
records from applying for asylum.
The legislation amounts to a short-term leash for Mr. Obama, with strings attached.
“This
border problem has been exacerbated by the president’s current
immigration policies, and it will be up to the White House to take the
lead in reversing the flow
of illegal immigrants into our country,” said House Appropriations
Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, Kentucky Republican. “The funding
included in the bill today will provide the tools necessary for our
agency personnel to ensure immediate needs are met, but
the administration must implement changes to their border policies and
fully enforce existing immigration law if we are to adequately address
this crisis.”
The
key legal change included in the bill is to make illegal immigrant
children from Central America subject to the same treatment as those
from Mexico. That means they
can be quickly screened and deported, rather than having to be turned
over to social workers and housed in the U.S., often times for years, as
their cases go through immigration courts.
Republicans
also insisted on changes to environmental policy so that border agents
can pursue illegal immigrants and patrol federal lands without having to
worry about
running afoul of other laws designed to protect the environment. Those
laws have at times prevented agents from building watchtowers or driving
certain areas of the border, agents say.
The
Senate will hold its first test-vote Wednesday on a much more expensive
bill that doesn’t include any changes in policy, but grants the Obama
administration billions
of dollars to continue housing the children and families.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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