1. How can we afford an amnesty for illegal immigrants?
We can't. Over their lifetimes, the estimated 11.5 million illegal immigrants would cost federal, state, and local taxpayers trillions of dollars, because they will consume significantly more in government benefits and services than they pay in taxes. Amnesty for millions of predominantly low-skilled illegal immigrants also will depress wages for low-skilled Americans and make a tough job market more difficult.
2. If illegal immigrants win amnesty, how is that fair to the 4.5 million who are waiting to enter the United States legally?
It isn't fair. America prides itself on the rule of law. As Americans, we should not allow those who break our laws to be rewarded-especially at the expense of those who are abiding by the rules. Rather than adequately streamlining our legalization system, some in Congress are pushing a new "path to citizenship" that grants amnesty to those who broke the law.
3. Can we ensure that a House-passed immigration bill doesn't become a vehicle, in a deal with the Senate, for blanket amnesty?
No, we can't. With massive costs to taxpayers and carve-outs for special interests, the Senate-passed bill eerily resembles Obamacare in its unnecessary complexity. Even House members who correctly view the Senate's "comprehensive" bill as a failed approach must be cognizant of the push to use any House-passed measure as a means to enact the Senate provisions. If conversations begin between the House and Senate on a compromise, major sections of the Senate bill-including amnesty-will be part of that deal.
4. Does Congress need to pass new legislation to secure the border and strengthen interior enforcement?
No. Current laws can be used to settle our border security and interior enforcement problems. The reason those laws aren't working is simple: We aren't enforcing them. By way of executive orders and selective enforcement, the Obama Administration has undermined efforts to fix our system and placed unwarranted burdens on the agents in charge of carrying out these laws.
5. Is there any guarantee that we won't face this problem again with millions of new illegal immigrants in the future?
No. We should keep a close eye on all proposals. In 1986, proponents of "reform" promised the American people that if Congress passed an amnesty-first immigration bill, we wouldn't have to go through this debate again. We were told to trust Congress to put together an amnesty bill that would be fair and prevent illegal immigration once and for all. Fast forward to now, and we're experiencing the same problems but on a larger scale. If Congress doesn't secure the border first to stop the flow of illegal immigration and also enforce our laws, we will find ourselves back in the same situation. The Congressional Budget Office projected that if it the Senate bill became law, millions of new illegal immigrants would be here within a few decades.
Below is a list of Republicans who have been targeted by the Democrats who want the House to pass an immigration bill.
Pick the members from your state, you know what to ask them.
I would suggest that in your message to them, either in person or at a town hall meeting, you also say that if the House passes any kind of immigration legislation that you will be demanding that they oust John Boehner as Speaker.
State
|
District
|
Member Name
|
Alabama
|
6
|
Spencer Bachus
|
Alaska
|
1
|
Don Young
|
Arizona
|
8
|
Trent Franks
|
Arkansas
|
3
|
Steve Womack
|
California
|
1
|
Doug La Malfa
|
California
|
8
|
Paul Cook
|
California
|
10
|
Jeff Denham
|
California
|
21
|
David Valadao
|
California
|
22
|
Devin Nunes
|
California
|
23
|
Kevin McCarthy
|
California
|
25
|
Buck McKeon
|
California
|
31
|
Gary Miller
|
California
|
39
|
Ed Royce
|
California
|
45
|
John Campbell
|
California
|
49
|
Darrell Issa
|
Colorado
|
3
|
Scott Tipton
|
Colorado
|
4
|
Cory Gardner
|
Colorado
|
6
|
Mike Coffman
|
Florida
|
2
|
Steve Southerland II
|
Florida
|
6
|
Ron DeSantis
|
Florida
|
7
|
John Mica
|
Florida
|
10
|
Daniel Webster
|
Florida
|
12
|
Gus Bilirakis
|
Florida
|
13
|
Bill Young
|
Florida
|
16
|
Vern Buchanan
|
Florida
|
17
|
Tom Rooney
|
Florida
|
19
|
Trey Radel
|
Florida
|
25
|
Mario Diaz-Balart
|
Florida
|
27
|
Ros-Lehtinen
|
Georgia
|
9
|
Doug Collins
|
Idaho
|
1
|
Raul Labrador
|
Illinois
|
6
|
Peter Roskam
|
Illinois
|
13
|
Rodney Davis
|
Illinois
|
14
|
Randy Hultgren
|
Illinois
|
15
|
John Shimkus
|
Illinois
|
16
|
Adam Kinzinger
|
Illinois
|
18
|
Aaron Schock
|
Iowa
|
3
|
Tom Latham
|
Kansas
|
3
|
Kevin Yoder
|
Louisiana
|
1
|
Steve Scalise
|
Louisiana
|
5
|
Rodeny Alexander
|
Michigan
|
4
|
Dave Camp
|
Michigan
|
6
|
Fred Upton
|
Michigan
|
10
|
Candice Miller
|
Minnesota
|
2
|
John Kline
|
Minnesota
|
3
|
Eric Paulsen
|
Mississippi
|
1
|
Alan Nunnelee
|
Missouri
|
2
|
Ann Wagner
|
Missouri
|
3
|
Blaine Leutkemeyer
|
Nebraska
|
1
|
Jeff Fortenberry
|
Nebraska
|
2
|
Lee Terry
|
Nevada
|
2
|
Mark Amodei
|
Nevada
|
3
|
Joe Heck
|
New Jersey
|
2
|
Frank LoBiondo
|
New Jersey
|
3
|
Jon Runyan
|
New Jersey
|
4
|
Chris Smith
|
New Jersey
|
5
|
Scott Garrett
|
New Jersey
|
7
|
Leonard Lance
|
New Jersey
|
11
|
Rodeny Frelinghuysen
|
New Mexico
|
2
|
Steve Pearce
|
New York
|
2
|
Peter King
|
New York
|
11
|
Michael Grimm
|
New York
|
19
|
Chris Gibson
|
New York
|
22
|
Richard Hanna
|
New York
|
23
|
Tom Reed
|
North Carolina
|
2
|
Renee Ellmers
|
North Carolina
|
3
|
Walter Jones
|
North Carolina
|
6
|
Howard Coble
|
North Carolina
|
9
|
Robert Pittenger
|
North Carolina
|
13
|
George Holding
|
Ohio
|
1
|
Steve Chabot
|
Ohio
|
4
|
Jim Jordan
|
Ohio
|
5
|
Robert Latta
|
Ohio
|
8
|
John Boehner
|
Ohio
|
10
|
Michael Turner
|
Ohio
|
12
|
Pat Tiberi
|
Ohio
|
14
|
David Joyce
|
Ohio
|
15
|
Steve Stivers
|
Oklahoma
|
1
|
Jim Bridenstine
|
Oklahoma
|
3
|
Frank Lucas
|
Oklahoma
|
4
|
James Lankford
|
Oklahoma
|
5
|
Tom Cole
|
Oregon
|
2
|
Greg Walden
|
Pennsylvania
|
5
|
Glenn Thompson
|
Pennsylvania
|
6
|
Jim Gerlach
|
Pennsylvania
|
7
|
Patrick Meehan
|
Pennsylvania
|
8
|
Michael Fitzpatrick
|
Pennsylvania
|
10
|
Thomas Marino
|
Pennsylvania
|
15
|
Charlie Dent
|
Pennsylvania
|
16
|
Joe Pitts
|
South Carolina
|
4
|
Trey Gowdy
|
South Carolina
|
5
|
Mick Mulvaney
|
Texas
|
2
|
Ted Poe
|
Texas
|
3
|
Sam Johnson
|
Texas
|
6
|
Joe Barton
|
Texas
|
7
|
John Culberson
|
Texas
|
8
|
Kevin Brady
|
Texas
|
10
|
Michael McCaul
|
Texas
|
13
|
Mac Thornberry
|
Texas
|
14
|
Randy Weber
|
Texas
|
17
|
Bill Flores
|
Texas
|
21
|
Lamar Smith
|
Texas
|
22
|
Pete Olson
|
Texas
|
27
|
Blake Farenthold
|
Texas
|
31
|
John Carter
|
Texas
|
32
|
Pete Sessions
|
Utah
|
1
|
Rob Bishop
|
Utah
|
3
|
Jason Chaffetz
|
Virginia
|
1
|
Rob Wittman
|
Virginia
|
2
|
Scott Rigell
|
Virginia
|
4
|
Randy Forbes
|
Virginia
|
6
|
Bob Goodlatte
|
Virginia
|
7
|
Eric Cantor
|
Virginia
|
10
|
Frank Wolf
|
Washington
|
3
|
Jaime Herrera Beutler
|
Washington
|
4
|
Doc Hastings
|
Washington
|
5
|
Cathy McMorris Rodgers
|
Washington
|
8
|
Dave Reichert
|
Wisconsin
|
1
|
Paul Ryan
|
Wisconsin
|
5
|
Jim Sensenbrenner
|
Wisconsin
|
7
|
Sean Duffy
|
Read more about Five immigration questions to ask your Congressman during the August recess.