Senate GOP to Unveil Tough New Immigration Bills
From the Los Angeles Times as reported at AZCentral.com:
Senate Republicans are set to announce Wednesday the hardest-hitting package of immigration enforcement measures seen yet — one that would require jail time for illegal immigrants caught crossing the border, make it harder for them to open bank accounts and compel them to communicate in English when dealing with federal agencies.
Other bills in the package of 11 to 14 would, according to the article:
- Block federal funding from cities that bar their police from asking about immigration status.
- Give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to use information from the Social Security Administration to target illegal immigrants.
- Require construction of 700 miles of fencing along the Southern border, not including vehicle barriers.
- Impose sanctions on countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens.
- Deport any immigrant, legal or illegal, for one drunken-driving conviction.
- Enable local and state police to enforce federal immigration laws.
