CQ Today Online News | House Republicans Push Immigration Enforcement as Spending Issue

Frustrated by the Obama administration¹s deportation policy, House Republicans are trying to use appropriations bills to require tougherenforcement of immigration laws.A Senate subcommittee scheduled to mark up its version of the fiscal 2013 Homeland Security spending bill on Tuesday is unlikely to follow the lead of House appropriators, possibly setting the stage for fights in conference on an issue that has become a campaign topic.Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been working to improve GOP prospects with Hispanic voters after he and his rivals took hawkish stands on illegal immigration during the primaries.The House version of the Homeland Security spending bill would provide more money for agencies dealing with illegal immigration and includesinstructions on how that money should be spent. The bill would hamper a year long effort by the administration to change immigration policy, andcould result in more prosecutions, detentions and deportations.The bill directs $2.75 billion to detention and removal operations at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency of the Homeland SecurityDepartment. That¹s roughly the same amount being spent in the current fiscal year and $84 million more than the administration requested.Immigration enforcement is one of the few areas that House Republicans have spared from cuts this appropriations season. The GOP majority has set a $1.028 trillion discretionary spending cap, shaving $19 billion off the ceiling set by last summer¹s debt limit deal (PL 112-25).Republicans say their appropriations provisions are intended as a warning to the administration that they will not tolerate the executive branch¹srecent efforts to grant a reprieve to some undocumented immigrants. And since no immigration legislation can advance in this Congress, HouseRepublicans view spending bills as the only vehicle for their provisions.There¹s been no agreement on the authorization side for a lot of this, said Robert B. Aderholt, R-Ala., who chairs the House AppropriationsHomeland Security Subcommittee. ³A lot of the agencies under DHS look to the appropriations bill for some guidance.The Federation for American Immigration Reform, which wants to limit the number of people coming into the country, supports the House action on immigration enforcement. ³I think it shows the level of concern that Congress has with what the Obama administration is doing, said JulieKirchner, the group¹s executive director. ³It is frustrating to see it has come to this point where Congress has to expressly state that ourgovernment will enforce the laws.²Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairwoman Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., who has scheduled a markup of her draft spending bill for Tuesday afternoon, said her subcommittee will not include the House¹s immigration provisions but will follow current law and generally adhere to the administration¹s requests.I hope we don¹t have a fight over Homeland, she said. We¹re looking for a fairly smooth negotiation with the House.²New PolicyAdministration officials argued that they lack sufficient resources to prosecute and deport the more than 11 million undocumented people livingin the United States. While the administration has increased the annual number of deportations to almost 400,000 ‹ the highest level ever ‹officials also have embarked on a new policy of only targeting for deportation undocumented people who commit crimes.Under the policy, referred to as ³prosecutorial discretion, agents no longer aggressively pursue people who have stayed out of trouble and whohave become intertwined with their communities. Those with family ties in this country or who aspire to enroll in college or join the militarywould also be spared.The policy has irked Republicans, who accuse Obama of willfully not enforcing immigration laws. The higher funding levels in the HouseHomeland Security spending bill are intended to counter the administration¹s argument that its policy is driven by a lack of enforcement resources.While our current fiscal crisis dictates that we all think and set priorities, it is not an excuse to ignore the law, Aderholt told Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton during a March 8 hearing.The administration is also phasing down a program in which local law enforcement teams up with federal agents to detain people in the countryillegally. The administration has requested a $17 million reduction in spending for that program, known as 287(g). Instead, Immigration andCustoms Enforcement is expanding its Secure Communities initiative, which will check the fingerprints of people arrested by local police against a Homeland Security database to determine their legal status.But the draft Homeland Security appropriations bill approved by Aderholt¹s subcommittee on May 9 would increase funding to $68.3 millionto facilitate existing 287(g) programs and expand the number of localities where the agreements are in place. The House bill would alsofund Secure Communities at roughly the level requested by the Obama administration.House appropriators also have set a floor of $134.6 million for worksite enforcement. Republicans have long complained that the administration has been lax in inspecting workplaces for undocumented workers.The spending bill, scheduled for a full House Appropriations markup Wednesday, would also instruct Immigration and Customs Enforcement tomaintain 34,000 beds in detention facilities to house people awaiting deportation. That would be 1,200 more than the agency requested.Republicans say their bill only maintains current law. The average number of people in custody this fiscal year is just shy of 32,800, according toan Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.The Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill (HR 5326) passed by the House on May 10 would appropriate $313.4 million to the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which adjudicates immigration cases. That would be $8.4 million above this year¹s spending level and in line with the administration¹s request. The version of the C-J-S bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 19 (S 2323) includes a similar amount.House appropriations bills also include several immigration-related policy provisions. A section of the Homeland Security measure orders thatthe Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure enforcement of immigration laws.Likewise, the House last week adopted an amendment offered by Diane Black, R-Tenn., to the Commerce-Justice-Science bill that would bar theJustice Department from suing states that have adopted tough immigration enforcement laws. Federal courts have put those measures on hold until the Supreme Court rules on Arizona¹s law.It flies in the face of this feel-good thing that the Romney campaign is trying to do, said Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz. ³It just reaffirmswhat many of us have been saying, that this anti-immigrant rhetoric is an intense part of their agenda.