Immigration

Our country was built by immigrants seeking freedom and Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger believes our policies should reflect that heritage. But he doesn’t support amnesty and believes all immigrants should obey the laws of our country. Dutch believes:

Secure communities require secure borders.

Dutch supported the construction of the fence between the U.S. and Mexico and consistently champions funding for additional border patrol agents, state-of-the-art surveillance equipment and the U.S. Marshals fighting cartels operating along the border. He supports the right of border states to defend themselves in the absence of enforceable federal policy and thinks we should be working harder to deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes. These efforts should be funded by increasing Visa fees on foreign companies that bring their workers into the United States.

Those who come to our country illegally should not be eligible for benefits or jobs at the expense of American workers.

Dutch supports making the government-verification system known as e-Verify permanent so that businesses have a straight-forward and consistent method to determine the legal status of their workforce. He supports existing federal laws that prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving benefits like Social Security, unemployment, food stamps and housing assistance.

There’s room to accommodate children brought into this country illegally through no fault of their own.

Dutch supported legislation known as the Dream Act that would establish a rigorous 10-year process for certain qualified young adults to obtain conditional permanent residency. In addition to strengthening our military recruitment pool, this proposal would produce more taxpayers to contribute to our economy. Dutch thinks this plan should only apply to students who were brought into the country as minors, who have already lived here for at least five years, who have graduated from a U.S. high school, and have completed at least two years at a community college or with the military.

We can’t just deport our way out of the problem.

We simply don’t have the manpower to deport each and every one of the 11 million illegal immigrants present in our country today – and most people don’t want that. A recent Fox news polls shows most American voters believe illegal immigrants should be given a chance to apply for citizenship if they meet certain requirements. Dutch would support a rigorous legalization process that requires immigrants, for example, to pay back taxes plus a penalty and pass a background check. But he believes we must secure our borders before any immigration reform passes into law.

We can do better when it comes to screening travelers entering the U.S.

Many Americans worry about potential terrorists exploiting our refugee system, but it would be far easier for an enemy combatant to gain entry through the Visa Waiver Program, which allows tourists to travel without a visa for 90 days or less. The program is open to citizens of 38 nations, including France and Belgium, where the Paris attackers were citizens. That is why Dutch is cosponsoring legislation to help the U.S. better identify and stop potential terrorists with European passports from entering our country.