Voted to prohibit taxpayer dollars from going to “Sanctuary Cities” that harbor illegal immigrants.   During consideration of H.R. 5719, a motion was offered that would have eliminated the tax-exempt treatment of the interest on bonds issued by states or localities that are considered “Sanctuary Cities.”  These cities have a policy in effect which doesn’t require employees of that state or locality to notify federal officials of an alien who may be unlawfully present in the United States.  A list of these cities was produced by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service and was listed in a recent Human Events article.

Met with Assistant Secretary Stewart Baker of the Department of Homeland Security to discuss the status of fence construction along the southern U.S. border, the workforce requirements needed to complete the project, and the status of the border patrol.  The meeting also included a discussion on food safety, deportation of illegal aliens convicted of crimes, and cargo safety. Congressman Forbes recently sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff requesting an update on the status of fence construction along our southwestern border.

Signed a discharge petition to bring H.R. 4088, the SAVE Act of 2007, to the House floor for a vote.  This bill has a three-point plan to secure the border, improve workplace enforcement and accelerate the deportation of illegal aliens.  Specifically, H.R. 4088 would call for 1) an additional 8,000 Border Patrol Agents, including 1,400 new agents to specifically investigate alien smuggling, 2) additional virtual fencing and surveillance equipment such as unmanned aerial vehicles along the border, 3) more detention centers to house illegal immigrants to end the practice of “catch and release,” 4) additional district court judges to improve the flow of immigration cases, and 5) the permanent use of the E-Verify Program for four years to enforce workplace immigration laws. 

Sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff requesting an update on the status of fence construction along our southwestern border.  The letter states, in part, "Operational control of our borders is a fundamental responsibility of the federal government and a key component in preserving the sovereignty of our nation…failure to meet this responsibility can be catastrophic to our economic systems and to our national security.   My constituents understand the challenges of patrolling our 1,900 mile southern border and overwhelmingly support the construction of fencing to help slow illegal entry into the United States." The letter asks the Secretary of Homeland Security what priority he attaches to the fence construction project, what challenges the Department has faced and how they intend to meet these challenges, and on what timeline citizens can expect to see completion of physical fencing.  

Cosigned a letter to the Appropriations Committee in support of maintaining the $50 million funding level for the REAL ID program. The House passed version of the fiscal year 2008 Department of Homeland Security Appropriation Bill appropriated $50 million in grant funding for states to comply with the REAL ID program. The REAL ID Act of 2005 is an opt-in program for states that aims to strengthen the legitimacy and security of driver's licenses issued in the United States.

Cosponsored H.R. 3612, the Local Law Enforcement Restoration Act. This would add clarifying language to the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to say that local and state governments can enforce immigration law. Some recent court rulings have limited the ability of local governments to enforce immigration law. This was not the intent of Congress when immigration law was reformed in the 1996.

Voted in favor of H.R. 2884, the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act. This would direct DHS to use fingerprints already provided by service members at the time of their military enlistment for citizenship applications. This bill is named after Specialist Kendell Frederick who was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb as he traveled off base to get fingerprinted for naturalization. He had been trying to become a U.S. citizen. He was posthumously granted U.S. citizenship.

Cosponsored H.Res 800, which expresses the Sense of Congress that illegal immigrants should not be issued driver’s licenses and H.R. 4176, the Prevention of Unsafe Licensing Act. H.R. 4176 would prevent states from issuing any driver’s license or identification card to an individual unlawfully present in the United States.

Cosponsored H.R. 3494, the Charlie Norwood Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act, which would provide local law enforcement additional tools to combat illegal immigration. By updating federal law, the bill would provide clear authority for local agencies to enforce immigration law, improve information sharing with local agencies, require the federal government to remove and deport criminal aliens, increase federal resources for local governments that choose to enforce the law, and reduce federal resources for local government that provide sanctuary to violent criminal aliens.

Cosponsored H.J.Res. 6, a constitutional amendment which would require the U.S. Census to exclude illegal immigrants from the official population count. The number of representatives a state sends to the House of Representatives as well as the number of votes a state has in the Electoral College are determined by a state’s population. Some states have inflated populations due to the number of illegal immigrants counted in the Census.

Cosponsored H.R. 3145, the Prohibition Against Criminal Alien Reentry Act, which would give the Department of Justice more authority to prosecute illegal immigrants involved in criminal actions. H.R. 3145 would allow U.S. Attorneys to prosecute criminal aliens who re-enter the United States if that alien has been convicted of two or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against persons, or a felony. This legislation also increases the maximum penalties for illegal re-entry by aliens previously convicted of a felony (from 10 to 20 years) or aggravated felony (from 20 to 30 years).

Cosponsored H.R. 3494, the Charlie Norwood Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act. H.R. 3494 would provide clear authority for local agencies to enforce immigration law; improved information sharing so local agencies can practically enforce immigration law; requirements for the federal government to remove and deport criminal aliens; increased federal resources for local governments that choose to enforce the law; and reduced federal resources for local governments that provide sanctuary to violent criminal aliens. This legislation will provide local law enforcement with the tools they need to enforce laws against the more than 400,000 alien absconders in the United States, of which an estimated 85,000 have criminal records.

Cosponsored a comprehensive immigration reform bill H.R. 2954, the Secure Borders FIRST Act of 2007. This "security first" alternative to legislation like the Senate amnesty bill would emphasize the vigorous enforcement of our current immigration laws, without offering a pathway to citizenship. The Secure Borders FIRST Act focuses on securing our borders by increasing border patrol agents and seeing that penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants are enforced. The legislation does not provide any amnesty or allow for the legalization of illegal immigrants. In addition, it would make English our nation's official language.

Cosponsored H. Res. 499, a bill calling for full enforcement of all current immigration laws. H. Res. 499 calls attention to unenforced or underenforced laws and calls upon the Administration to systematically enforce employer sanctions, to comply with the Secure Fence Act of 2006 by building over 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, and to end the practice of catching illegal immigrants at the border and returning them without prosecution.

Introduced and debated an amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, H.R. 2638, that would have put an end to a pattern of abuse in granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The Department of Homeland Security can grant TPS status to the nationals of a country who are experiencing a period of crisis, such as an earthquake, for as long as 18 months and can later extend the TPS period for multiple additional periods of as long as 18 months. The Administration has begun to utilize TPS as a de facto amnesty for illegal immigrants from certain Central American countries, extending TPS for individuals multiple times. The latest extension lasted until January 2009, more than 10 years after individuals were originally granted TPS. Congressman Forbes' amendment would have returned TPS to its original intent of providing temporary refuge during temporary periods of crisis. It would bar any funds made available in this Act from being used to extend TPS for nationals of a country beyond the original period of not more than 18 months.

Cosponsored H. Res. 351, a resolution to help reject amnesty legislation, deter illegal immigration and restore the rule of law in our country. The resolution recognizes that the failure of the federal government to enforce existing immigration laws has led to a 20-year influx of aliens unlawfully crossing the borders of the United States. It further acknowledges that granting amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens residing in our country is fiscally irresponsible and would place heavy financial burdens on American taxpayers and impose national security risks to the country.

Supported H.R. 2399, the Alien Smuggling & Terrorism Prevention Act. The measure increases criminal penalties for knowingly bringing an illegal immigrant into the United States, transporting an illegal immigrant within the country, harboring an illegal immigrant, or encouraging illegal immigrants to enter the country.

Cosponsored H.R. 1314, the Photo Identification Security Act, which would close the loopholes which allow American financial institutions to issue credit cards to illegal immigrants. Several banking institutions currently allow customers who do not have a Social Security number to apply for a credit card.

Cosponsored H.R. 1940, the Birthright Citizenship Act, legislation which would deny automatic citizenship to children born to illegal immigrants. The bill states that a person born in the U.S. shall be eligible for birthright citizenship only if the person is born in the United States of parents who are citizens or lawfully present, or if the parent is performing active service in the armed forces. Anchor babies, or children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrant parents, currently automatically become citizens thus serving as an anchor for their parents to remain in the country.

Signed a letter to Speaker Pelosi asking that she not bring amnesty legislation to the House floor. The letter states in part, "The United States has the most generous legal immigration system in the world. We should take the side of American workers and taxpayers, legal immigrants and the rule of law. Please oppose any effort to put illegal immigrants on the path to amnesty."

Signed a letter to President Bush calling for vigorous enforcement of immigration laws relating to employees. The letter states in part, "As Members of the House of Representatives, we appeal to you on behalf of American workers. We urge you to continue recent efforts to vigorously enforce the laws that ensure that employers do not hire illegal immigrants." The letter goes on to state that the hiring of illegal immigrants creates "unfair competition in the labor market and depress wages for all workers." The Center for Immigration Studies has found that the current level of immigration has reduced the wages of the average native-born worker in a low-skilled occupation by 12% a year, or almost $2,000.

Questioned witnesses at a hearing of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law on the failed attempt of past amnesty programs to control illegal immigration at the borders and the failed attempt to decrease the substantial burden that illegal immigration places on our education, transportation, and law enforcement at the state and local levels of government.

Cosponsored H.R. 1355, the Scott Gardner Act, a bill that would make DUI convictions grounds for mandatory detention and deportation for illegal immigrants and provide local law enforcement with the tools to effectively partner with the federal government to address illegal immigration. The bill aids the enforcement of our immigration laws by requiring the sharing of immigration information among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, improving the operation and compatibility of federal immigration and criminal databases, and increasing detention facility space.