Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act

Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) has introduced the Keeping the Promise of IRCA Act. The bill would fulfill the border security promises, workplace verification promises, and interior enforcement promises that were never fulfilled by the 1986 amnesty bill. The bill serves as an alternative to the Gang of Eight's amnesty bill, S.744, and is a response to public opinion that's been evident in poll after poll that the border needs to be secured before dealing with other aspects of immigration reform.

• Require all employers to use E-Verify within 2 years
• Require all employers to re-verify the work authorization of temporary guest workers
• Increase the penalty to at least 1 year in prison for committing fraud while going through the work authorization process
• Increase penalties and fines for employers that hire illegal aliens
• Require DHS to check suspected illegal-alien smugglers and those smuggled with terrorist watch lists
• Increase penalties for illegal-alien smugglers
• Bar sanctuary cities from receiving State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) funding
• Hire additional ICE agents and support staff
• Assign at least one ICE agent to each federal, state, and county prison and require ICE to detain suspected illegal aliens booked to the prison
• Assign at least one ICE agent to each state drug and gang task force
• Provide ICE agents and Border Patrol agents with appropriate equipment - body armor and weapons
• Discontinue visas to countries that refuse to repatriate deported illegal aliens
• Add an additional 10,000 beds to ICE detention centers
• Create a pilot program for a biometric exit/entry system at land ports
• Require equipment sharing between the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security
• Achieve operational control of the border - defined by stopping all illegal border crossings, drugs, and weapons
• Add additional judges, clerks, and prosecutors along the border