Gang of Eight Bill Does Not Uphold Promises to Secure Border, Enforce the Law, or Improve Legal Immigration

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to their Senate colleagues highlighting ongoing concerns with S. 744, the Senate immigration reform bill. They noted the numerous opportunities the Senate Judiciary Committee had to improve the bill during the markup process, yet failed to enact. They also specifically criticized the back-door deal that was struck by Gang of Eight members and Democrats on the Judiciary committee prior to the markup, which prevented any meaningful improvements to the legislation.

“Americans expect their government to end the lawlessness, not surrender to it. They deserve immigration reform with actual border security, enforcement of the laws on the books, and a legal immigration system that works,” the senators wrote. “We must welcome and celebrate legal immigrants, but S. 744 fails to deliver anything more than the same empty promises Washington has been making for 30 years.”

“The last thing this country needs right now is another 1,000-plus page bill that, like Obamacare, was negotiated behind closed doors with special interests. We want immigration reform to pass, but only if it actually fixes the broken system, rather than allowing the problems to grow and fester.”

In the letter, the senators highlight rejected amendments that would have drastically improved the bill as well as amendments that were accepted that make the bill even worse. They point to several areas of concern in the current bill that must be addressed on the Senate floor in order to pass effective legislation, including:

• Provides immediate legalization without securing the border
• Rewards criminal aliens, absconders, and deportees and undermines law enforcement
• Contains extremely dangerous national security loopholes
• Facilitates fraud in our immigration system
• Creates no real penalties for illegal immigrants and rewards them with entitlements
• Delays for years the implementation of E-Verify
• Does not fix our legal immigration system
• Advanced through a process predicated on a deal struck before markup
• Rewards those who have broken our laws by offering a special path to citizenship

Letter from Sens. Cruz, Sessions, Lee, Grassley Voicing Concerns with S. 744

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