Gordon Supports Bill to Secure Borders, Improve Enforcement

November 6, 2007, WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon is co-sponsoring legislation to secure America’s borders and enforce the nation’s immigration laws by providing necessary resources and manpower.

“Our wide open borders and failure to enforce our current laws have made it much too easy for people to illegally enter the United States and stay here undetected,” said Gordon. “Additional personnel, better tools and more resources are needed to enforce current laws and secure our borders.”

The Secure America with Verification and Enforcement Act of 2007, or SAVE Act, was introduced today. The bill would add 8,000 new Border Patrol agents and provide technology to help them do their jobs better.

The SAVE Act also would increase partnerships between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and state and local law enforcement to help with enforcement of current laws, and it would add more judges to expedite removal of illegal aliens.

In addition, the bill provides employers with resources to check the immigration status of their employees to ensure compliance with current law.

“The SAVE Act provides a smarter approach to a growing national security problem,” said Gordon. “It helps the people on the frontlines, the judges in the courtrooms and the employers who want to operate a business lawfully.”

Gordon is co-sponsoring additional legislation to boost the development of technologies to expand on efforts to curb illegal border crossings and prevent drug smuggling. The House Science and Technology Committee, which Gordon chairs, will hold a subcommittee hearing on that bill, H.R. 3916, next week. The committee has jurisdiction over the Science & Technology Directorate of Homeland Security, where developing security technologies come to fruition.