Illegal immigration is a clear threat to our country.  Terrorists who want to do our country harm can enter virtually unchecked through our porous borders—both southern and northern. And they can smuggle in dangerous materials capable of causing great destruction. Simply put, our unsecured borders are a national security threat.
 
But politicians in Washington just aren't serious about securing our border.  First they tried to pass off amnesty as comprehensive immigration reform, which I am proud to say that I fought to stop. Now, Nancy Pelosi is blocking a bi-partisan bill, the SAVE Act, that will make it tougher for illegal immigrants to get across the border, find a job, and stay here once they get caught.
 
I am a co-sponsor of the SAVE Act because it is common sense legislation that will increase the number of ICE agents by 1,150 and it provides for more training for local law enforcement. Getting tough on illegal immigration means making it harder to enter our country illegally. I will continue to support increasing our border patrol.  We need to get our borders under control.
 
The SAVE Act also increases enforcement. It makes it mandatory for employers to use the E-Verify system to verify employee eligibility. It would close the existing loopholes in E-Verify to detect multiple people using the same social security number and to detect people using stolen identities.
 
Finally, I want to emphasize that I support legal immigration. Legal immigration is what made this country great.  I support encouraging legal immigration and work visas that make sense, but at this point it is clear our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. We must secure the borders and enforce the laws we have.