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John Cornyn on Immigration

Republican Jr Senator (TX)

 


First step is securing our porous border with Mexico

Senator Cornyn believes the immigration debate is about the values that we hold dearest as Texans and as Americans. That includes respect for the rule of law, and Senator Cornyn believes the first step in reforming our broken immigration system is securing our porous border with Mexico. The Department of Homeland Security estimates it apprehends only half of those crossing the border illegally, and other estimates indicate that the reality is far less. Operational border security must be a part of any immigration reform.

But while immigration reform begins at the border, it does not end there. Forty percent of those here illegally first arrived with a lawful visa but never left when it expired. Senator Cornyn believes a biometric entry-exit system should be implemented, and Texas employers must have a rock-solid way of verifying the status of workers they hire.

Source: Vote-USA.org on 2014 Texas Senate incumbents , Oct 25, 2014

More secure documents needed to enforce immigration laws

Noriega and Cornyn sparred over immigration. Both hedged when the debate moderator asked them what they would do if they found out members of a work crew at their homes were in the country illegally. Noriega and Cornyn both said the U.S. immigration system is broken.

Eventually, both said they wouldn't stand for having undocumented workers at their homes.

"I don't work for Immigration," Noriega said, but when pressed said an undocumented worker would need to be deported. After the debate he said, "If it came to my attention that someone was in violation of the law, yes, I would report them."

Cornyn said more secure documents are needed so immigration laws can be enforced. When asked again after the debate about the hypothetical scenario, he said, "I don't think it's appropriate to hire people who are not legally here in the United States and I would look for somebody else to legally do that work."

Source: 2008 Texas Senate Debate reported in Dallas Morning News , Oct 17, 2008

2007: Pushed to readily deport illegal immigrants

In a May 17, 2007 meeting, Senate supporters of the comprehensive immigration bill were busy trying to hammer out the final details of their "grand bargain" in time for an afternoon press conference. Sen. John Cornyn, who had co-authored a more enforcement-focused immigration bill the year before with Sen. John Kyl, pushed hard to have the final language allow for easier deportation of illegal immigrants. McCain, who had long been a co-architect of reform efforts [but had not been involved due to campaigning], grew impatient, and then snapped.

McCain told Sen. Cornyn, "I think it would expedite things if you would just leave the room, Senator, so we can get along with finishing this up." Sen. Cornyn responded: "Wait a minute. We've been meeting for three months on this in good faith, and now you parachute in here this morning and tell me to leave? I think you're out of line." Sen. McCain responded: "I know what is going on here. I know more about immigration than anybody in this room!"

Source: The Myth of a Maverick, by Matt Welch, p.108 , Oct 9, 2007

Fight crime by securing our borders

Cornyn believes we must secure our borders to keep our country free from terror and to keep drugs out of schools and away from children. He supports giving law enforcement officials the resources to fight drug trafficking in our communities and on the Texas-Mexico border.
Source: 2002 Senate campaign website, www.JohnCornyn.com, "Issues" , Jun 20, 2002

Rated 75% by USBC, indicating a sealed-border stance.

Cornyn scores 75% by USBC on immigration issues

OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005-2006 USBC scores as follows:

About USBC (from their website, www.usbc.org):

U.S. Border Control, founded in 1988, is a non-profit, tax-exempt, citizen`s lobby. USBC is dedicated to ending illegal immigration by securing our nation`s borders and reforming our immigration policies. USBC [works with] Congressmen to stop amnesty; seal our borders against terrorism and illegal immigration; and, preserve our nation`s language, culture and American way of life for future generations.

Our organization accepts no financial support from any branch of government. All our support comes from concerned citizens who appreciate the work we are doing to seal our borders against drugs, disease, illegal migration and terrorism and wish to preserve our nation`s language, culture and heritage for the next generations.

Source: USBC website 06n-USBC on Dec 31, 2006

Increase limitations for H-1B, H-2B, and L-visas.

Cornyn introduced increasing limitations for H-1B, H-2B, and L-visas

A bill to provide emergency relief for United States businesses and industries currently employing temporary foreign workers and for other purposes. The Global Competitiveness Act of 2008 -

Source: Global Competitiveness Act (S.2839) 08-S2839 on Apr 10, 2008

ICE performs vital functions that protect American families.

Cornyn signed Press release from 19 Senators on Resolution to Support ICE

Nineteen U.S. Senators introduced a resolution denouncing the radical calls for the dissolution of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE performs vital functions that protect American families. Last year, agents worked tirelessly around the clock to rescue 1,422 victims of human trafficking. More than 900 of those victims were children. ICE agents also removed a million pounds of narcotics and more than 4,800 gang members from the streets of this country. Those numbers are just a small fraction of the nearly 127,000 arrests made by ICE agents last year against people who came here and committed violent crimes against law-abiding Americans. Those criminals were responsible for more than 50,000 assaults, 2,000 kidnappings and 1,800 homicides.

`I am deeply troubled by the Democrats` reckless calls to abolish ICE. Eliminating ICE shows a blatant disregard for the welfare of the American people and our nation`s immigration laws,` said Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-LA). `With the ever present threat of MS-13 and international terrorism, along with an opioid crisis being fought at our border, abolishing ICE is unthinkable. ICE officers are in the trenches fighting those threats and protecting American families from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that endanger our families. ICE deserves our gratitude and respect, not scorn and ridicule.`

`Washington Democrats wanting to abolish ICE, our country`s immigration law enforcement agency, are essentially demanding open borders,` said Sen. Cassidy (R-LA). `Assaults on ICE officers nearly tripled in 2017, so instead of attacking them, we should support them as they work to secure our borders, stop the flow of deadly drugs, break up violent gangs like MS-13, rescue human trafficking victims, and keep our communities safe.`

Source: Press release from 19 Senators on Resolution to Support ICE 18LTR-ICE on Jul 12, 2018

Support national emergency at the Southern border.

Cornyn voted NAY Joint Resolution on Proclamation 9844

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives: That the national emergency declared by the finding of the President on February 15, 2019, in Proclamation 9844 is hereby terminated.

Proclamation 9844 issued by the president on Feb. 15, 2019: Declares a state of national emergency at the southern border to address the issues of illegal immigration and criminal trafficking into the US: `The current situation at the southern border presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency. The southern border is a major entry point for criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics. The problem of large-scale unlawful migration through the southern border is long-standing, and despite the executive branch`s exercise of existing statutory authorities, the situation has worsened in certain respects in recent years. Because of the gravity of the current emergency situation, it is necessary for the Armed Forces to provide additional support to address the crisis.`

Opposing the Proclamation (supporting the Resolution), ACLU press release, 2/15/2019 The ACLU issued the following statement upon filing a lawsuit: `By the president`s very own admission in the Rose Garden, there is no national emergency. He just grew impatient and frustrated with Congress, and decided to move along his promise for a border wall `faster.` This is a patently illegal power grab that hurts American communities and flouts the checks and balances that are hallmarks of our democracy.`

Legislative outcome Passed House 245-182-5 roll #94 on Feb. 26; pass Senate 59-41 roll #49 on March 14; Vetoed by Pres. Trump; veto override failed, 248-181-3 (2/3 required), roll #127 on March 26

Source: Congressional vote 19-HJR46 on Feb 26, 2019

Increase both high-skill and family-based visa caps.

Cornyn co-sponsored the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act

Legislative Summary:This bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15%, and eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas. It also removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China. The bill also establishes transition rules for employment-based visas from FY2020-FY2022, by reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability), EB-3 (skilled and other workers), and EB-5 (investors) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas. Of the unreserved visas, not more than 85% shall be allotted to immigrants from any single country.

Explanation from the Countable.US: Under the current immigration system, immigrants from any one country can claim no more than 7% of the 140,000 employment-based green cards issued annually to foreign nationals working in the U.S. This significantly disadvantages immigrants from larger countries that more immigrants come from.

For example, China (population 1.3 billion) and India have large backlogs of workers wishing to immigrate to and work in the U.S., but they have the name visa caps as countries such as Iceland or Estonia (population 1.3 million), which have both much smaller populations and far fewer citizens seeking to immigrate to the U.S.

The net effect of this is that immigrants from India and China can face decades-long waits, averaging 2-3 times the wait times for immigrants from other countries, for green cards, and many have to return home because they can`t get permanent residency; meanwhile, countries such as Iceland and Estonia never come close to reaching their visa limit caps.

Legislative outcome Roll call 437 in House on 7/10/2019 passed 365-65-2; referred to Committee in Senate 7/9/2019; no action as of 1/1/2020.

Source: S.386/H.R.1044 19-HR1044 on Feb 7, 2019

Pro-border security, according to CC survey.

Cornyn supports the Christian Coalition survey question on border security

The Christian Coalition inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Increase Border Security Including Additional Infrastructures ?' Self-description by Christian Coalition of America: "These guides help give voters a clear understanding of where candidates stand on important pro-family issues" for all Senate and Presidential candidates.

Source: CC Survey 20CC-12 on Sep 10, 2020

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