Republican Study Committee: Immigration Must Serve Americans, Not Special Interests
The Republican Study Committee (RSC), an influential conservative caucus of the House of Representatives, just released its FY 2023 budget proposal entitled the Blueprint to Save America. In addressing immigration, the RSC’s budget is a tour de force that correctly notes that immigration policy must benefit Americans, and not special interests or big business.
The RSC lists a number of changes to America’s immigration policy that embrace four broad principles outlined by the group. First, immigration policy must protect national security and protect Americans from threats to their safety. Second, immigration policy must prioritize American workers. Third, immigration policy must respect the rule of law and disincentivize illegal immigration. And fourth, immigration policy should aim to assimilate legal immigrants into American culture.
The budget meets all of these priorities by embracing both current and past legislation that would secure our borders and prioritize American workers.
The bulk of the budget’s proposals addresses regaining control of our border in light of the ongoing crisis, fueled in large part by the Biden administration’s own policy decisions. The RSC calls for hiring more immigration judge teams and clarifying the intent of the 14th Amendment as it relates to the children of illegal aliens. The RSC includes a further list of ten specific pieces of legislation that their budget would implement and all of which carry FAIR’s support:
- Finish the Wall Act [H.R. 2729]
- REMAIN in Mexico Act [H.R. 1259]
- Closing Asylum Loopholes Act [H.R. 517, 116th Congress]
- No Sanctuary for Criminals Act [H.R. 3375]
- Sarah’s Law [H.R. 1496]
- Eradicate Crossing of Illegal Tunnels (EXIT) Act [H.R. 2579]
- Immigration Transparency and Transit Notification Act [H.R. 6592]
- Illegal Immigrant Payoff Prohibition Act [H.R. 5854]
- Immigration Detainer Enforcement Act [H.R. 506]
- Stopping Traffickers and Their Accomplices Act [H.R. 6536]
But immigration policy does not only involve border security. The RSC recognizes this policy aspect with its section addressing the prioritization of American workers over imported foreigners. The budget calls for the full, mandatory nationwide use of the E-Verify system and the reimplementation of the Trump-era public charge rule. The RSC would implement two FAIR-supported bills, the American Tech Workforce Act [H.R. 6206] and the Preventing Illegal Immigrants from Abusing Tax Welfare Act [H.R. 2956, 114th Congress].
This budget blueprint correctly recognizes that the border crisis continues to threaten national security, public health, wage levels, and employment security, and poses unsustainable strains on government resources. As FAIR has long noted, every immigration policy decision by the federal government must serve the interests of American citizens, families, and workers. The RSC understands this, while the party in power does not.
FAIR applauds Chairman Jim Banks (Ind.), Budget and Spending Task Force Chairman Kevin Hern (Okla.), and the entire RSC membership for their leadership on the immigration issue amid a historic crisis. Republican leaders and the entire conference should take note of what this blueprint contains going into the 118th Congress, where they are predicted to be in the majority. They will have a mandate to legislate unflinchingly and must ensure that our immigration laws protect and serve the interests of the American people.