Dear Friend,

By far, illegal immigration is one of the top issues I hear about from Hoosiers in the 8th District. They expect Congress to come together and find real solutions to this growing problem. I couldn’t agree with them more. 

So this week, I joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act to strengthen our border security, ensure employers have the tools to verify employees are legally able to work, and provide the tools and resources local law enforcement needs to enforce the immigration laws we already have on the books.

Our first step has got to be stopping the flow with increased border security, so the bill adds 8,000 new Border Patrol Agents and makes technological improvements at America’s northern and southern borders. This is more than just good immigration policy, it’s also good national security policy.

Next, the SAVE Act works toward eliminating one of the main causes of the illegal immigration problem: an abundance of jobs for illegal immigrants. It accomplishes this by expanding the current E-Verify program to enable all employers to verify identification information of prospective employees and ensure they are legally able to work. The bill also holds employers who continue to break our immigration laws accountable by doubling the minimum fines imposed on them for hiring illegal immigrants.  

Finally, the bill provides the tools and resources local law enforcement needs to enforce existing federal laws and penalize offenders. For too long, Congress and the President have looked the other way while our immigration laws were broken. The bottom line is that no law we pass in Washington will be effective until it is enforced. So the SAVE Act increases the investigative abilities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by increasing agents, including an additional 140 Criminal Alien Program officers to pick up those illegal immigrants local law enforcement has apprehended.

These elements, along with an unwavering opposition to amnesty, are key to solving America’s illegal immigration problem. I will continue to push for the House’s consideration of this commonsense, bipartisan legislation.  

Sincerely,

Brad Ellsworth