House Speaker Paul Ryan’s New Border Security Plan Is More of the Same: Enforcement Now, Enforcement Forever
Immigration Impact reports that Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) last week introduced his national security agenda, which included a plan to “secure the border.” As part of that plan, Speaker Ryan says, “America must secure the border once and for all by accelerating the deployment of fencing, technology, air assets, and personnel.”
Ryan’s plan is simply more of the same rhetoric we have heard from Congress for years. Washington has failed to pass needed comprehensive reforms to the U.S. immigration system – legalizing unauthorized immigrants who meet tough eligibility standards, alleviating long backlogs for families awaiting reunification, and ensuring that we have the workers that we need for our growing economy and changing demographics. Of course, enforcing such a reformed U.S. immigration system is important, as is keeping our country safe and our borders secure. But Members of Congress like Speaker Ryan have ignored the need for comprehensive reform and have only focused on more and more enforcement. This latest plan includes spending billions of dollars more along the border, without addressing the shortcomings of the current U.S. immigration system.
KJ