WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 21, 2018) – Today, Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) released the following statement after voting against H.R. 4760, also known as the Goodlatte bill.

“I’ve said all along that in any bill I wanted to see guaranteed border security funding, strong enforcement measures, and a long-term solution for DACA recipients. This bill did not accomplish these goals. Tomorrow, the House will move forward on a bill that I helped negotiate, the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act. This bill will fully secure the border, stop illegal immigration, close enforcement loopholes, end the threat of amnesty, and provide long-term certainty for DACA recipients. It also contains stronger solutions to keep families together and stop children from being separated from their parents at the border.”

NOTE: The Border Security and Immigration Reform Act authorizes and advance appropriates $25 billion for the wall and border security and includes triggers to ensure that these funds are not rescinded or transferred in order for any visas to be issued to DACA recipients under the new merit-based visa category.

It more fully responds to President Trump’s call to address the separation of children from their parents at the border by requiring DHS to maintain the care and custody of aliens together with their children while any charge for illegally crossing the border is pending and providing funding for DHS family residential centers.

The Border Security and Immigration Reform Act provides a long-term solution to the DACA problem so we don’t have to revisit this again in the near future.

The Border Security and Immigration Reform Act more fully delivers on the president’s four pillars for immigration reform (DACA; border wall; chain migration; and visa lottery) than H.R. 4760 does. The bill has a built-in trigger that ensures robust funding for border security before the DACA population is able to compete for the new merit-based visas. The bill specifically requires that advanced appropriations must not have been rescinded or transferred to another account in order for any visas to be issued under the new merit-based category created by the bill.

The Border Security and Immigration Reform Act also includes the Department of Homeland Security’s highest priority operational needs as it relates to immigration enforcement, eliminates the visa lottery and two family-based immigration categories in favor of merit-based immigration. The percentage of merit-based immigration to the U.S. each year under the bill would double, from approximately 13 to 26 percent.

# # #