The U.S. Senate will consider several immigration enforcement bills during the last week of September prior to adjournment for the mid-term elections.  These bills represent pieces of H.R. 4437, the House enforcement-only bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in December.  The House of Representatives has refused to meet with the U.S. Senate to reconcile differences between H.R. 4437 and S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act passed by the Senate in May.

It is important to speak out against these measures on substantive grounds and so that leaders in the House of Representatives will agree to negotiate on a comprehensive immigration reform package. These bills will soon be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and will be sent to the Senate for consideration or could be attached to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill. 

The enactment of these individual measures is an attempt to circumvent the legislative process and enact H.R. 4437 in a piecemeal fashion, thus abrogating the need to consider other important aspects of immigration reform, such as a path to citizenship for the undocumented and the creation of a temporary worker program.    The bills being considered are:

1. H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorizes the construction of 700 miles of border fencing along the southern border.   This will be considered by the U.S. Senate as early as Monday.
2. H.R. 6094, the Community Protection Act, which would permit the indefinite detention of immigrants who have served their sentences and expand the use of expedited removal.   This legislation could be attached to the DHS appropriations bill or considered separately on the Senate floor.
3. H.R. 6095, the Immigration Law Enforcement Act, which would require state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration law and would remove judicial review from immigrants who may have been abused by government agents.  This legislation could be attached to the DHS appropriations bill or considered separately on the Senate floor.

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