Eight Amendments to Increase Immigration Enforcement Approved by the House

Last night, the House of Representatives passed the Homeland Security spending bill for the 2013 fiscal year, which included 8 immigration amendments supported by NumbersUSA.

Throughout the day on Thursday, our activists flooded the Capitol switchboard with calls to help get the amendments passed. And with roll call votes on three of the amendments, we'll be able to update our grade cards over the next few days!

The first amendment to receive a roll call actually came on Wednesday night and was featured on our home page on Thursday. Reps. Ted Poe of Texas and Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania offered a bipartisan amendment to reallocate funds to pay for the construction of cell phone towers along the Southwest border. The wife of murdered rancher Robert Krentz believes that if there was a cell phone signal along the border in 2011, her husband might still be alive today. The amendment passed 302-to-113 with strong support coming from both sides of the aisle.

The two other roll call votes were split mostly by party line, but both were still approved with large margins. Rep. Steve King of Iowa offered an amendment that would prohibit funds from being used to implement and execute the directives from ICE Director John Morton's memos of 2011. These memos instruct agents to use prosecutorial discretion thereby offering an administrative amnesty to illegal aliens that have not committed a violent crime. It passed 238-to-175. The other amendment was offered by Rep. John Sullivan of Oklahoma, and his amendment prohibited funds from being used to terminate 287(g) contracts. It passed 250-to-164.

The amendments approved by voice vote include:

• Rep. Chip Cravaack's amendment to keep criminal aliens behind bars before they're deported;
• Rep. Price's amendment to prevent funds from being used to circumvent the enforcement of immigration laws;
• Rep. Black's amendment to prohibit the funding of a Public Advocate position within ICE;
• Rep. Graves' amendment to prevent the implementation