GOP Immigration Bill Creates Magic Word for Automatic Entry

Immigration Border

Considering the extent of the Republican “wave” at the polls last November and the “mandate” pundits say Republicans have from the electorate to act on controversial issues like President Barack Obama’s illegal amnesty order, many voters expected Congress to finally deal with the nation’s intractable immigration problem.

Some are now saying the conventional wisdom was wrong.

Last week, the House Homeland Security Committee sent to the House floor the “Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015” – a bill championed by committee Chairman Michael McCaul’s (R-TX) that critics say fails to deal with asylum fraud and delays implementation of a state-of-the-art biometric exit-entry system designed to track those crossing our nation’s borders in real time.

That according to Kenneth Palinkas, president of the National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council (NCIS) – the union that represents 12,000 officers and employees of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Palinkas said McCaul’s bill “does nothing to preclude anyone in the world from turning themselves in at the U.S. border and obtaining automatic entry and federal benefits”.

Essentially, an immigrant can cross the border, turn themselves in then say the magic word: “Asylum.”

Palinkas added that under the legislation:

“Almost anyone at all can call themselves an asylum-seeker and get in; it’s a global joke”…“it’s not border security if anyone can recite the magic words and get waved right on in.” …“Those who arrived in the 2014 border run are still here, often living on US support and even applying for U.S. jobs.”

He added to his criticism it the legislation lacks funding to adequately screen immigrants seeking legal status.

“We process millions upon millions of applications every year for lifetime immigrant green cards, refugee admissions, asylum-seekers, temporary workers, visitors, tourists, and more – but we do so without any of the resources or mission support we need to screen these individuals properly, let alone to conduct in-person interviews”.

Caroline May, reporting for Breitbart News, quoted McCaul in a statement saying that his committee’s “Secure Our Borders First” “bill only deals with the problem at our southern, northern, and maritime borders” adding that the bill was part of the immigration solution, not the large comprehensive immigration bill approach that voters have rejected in recent years.

Palinkas also said Congress has failed so far to take on Obama on executive amnesty and that Congress needs to directly address the issue because it “compromises national security and public safety, while undermining officer morale.”