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Shelley Berkley on Immigration

Democratic Representative (NV-1)


Voted YES on building a fence along the Mexican border.

Within 18 months, achieves operational control over U.S. land and maritime borders, including:
  1. systematic border surveillance through more effective use of personnel and technology; and
  2. physical infrastructure enhancements to prevent unlawful border entry
Defines "operational control" as the prevention of all unlawful U.S. entries, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, narcotics, and other contraband.

Proponents support voting YES because:

It is obvious there is no more defining issue in our Nation today than stopping illegal immigration. The most basic obligation of any government is to secure the Nation's borders. One issue in which there appears to be a consensus between the Senate and the House is on the issue of building a secure fence. So rather than wait until comprehensive legislation is enacted, we should move forward on targeted legislation which is effective and meaningful. The legislation today provides over 700 miles of two-layered reinforced fencing, and for the rest of the border provides a virtual fence, via integrated surveillance technology.

Opponents support voting NO because:

Just to build the fence is going to cost us at least $7 billion. Where is the money coming from to pay for it? How much is it going to cost to maintain this 700-mile fence? Who is going to do it? This bill contains no funding.

This bill also ignores real enforcement measures, like hiring more Border Patrol personnel, and instead builds a Berlin Wall on our southern border. So long as employers need workers in this country, and while our immigration systems impede rather than facilitate timely access of willing workers to those opportunities, undocumented immigration will never be controlled.

Walls, barriers, and military patrols will only force those immigrants to utilize ever more dangerous routes and increase the number of people who die in search of an opportunity to feed and clothe their families.

Reference: Secure Fence Act; Bill H R 6061 ; vote number 2006-446 on Sep 14, 2006

Voted YES on preventing tipping off Mexicans about Minuteman Project.

Voting YES on this amendment supports the Minuteman Project, a group of volunteers who have taken on surveillance of the Mexican border for illegal immigrants. The amendment states that US funds will not be used to tell the Mexican government about the whereabouts of the Minuteman Project volunteers. Proponents of the Minuteman Project say that they are volunteer citizens doing what the federal government SHOULD be doing, but has failed to do. Opponents of the Minuteman Project say that they are vigilantes at best and anti-Mexican racists at worst. The amendment states:
None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to provide a foreign government information relating to the activities of an organized volunteer civilian action group, operating in the State of California, Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona, unless required by international treaty.
Reference: Department of Homeland Security appropriations; Bill HR 5441 Amendment 968 ; vote number 2006-224 on Jun 6, 2006

Voted NO on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment.

Vote to pass the bill that would require hospitals to gather and report information on possible illegal aliens before hospitals can be reimbursed for treating them. The bill would also make employers liable for the reimbursements if an undocumented employee seeks medical attention, unless the employer meets particular conditions for exemption. The bill would specify that hospitals aren't required to provide care to undocumented aliens if they can be transported to their home country without a significant chance of worsening their condition.
Reference: Undocumented Alien Emergency Medical Assistance Amendments; Bill HR 3722 ; vote number 2004-182 on May 20, 2004

Rated 0% by FAIR, indicating a voting record loosening immigration.

Berkley scores 0% by FAIR on immigration issues

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, non-profit, public interest membership organization of concerned citizens united by their belief in the need for immigration reform. Founded in 1979, FAIR believes that the U.S. can and must have an immigration policy that is non-discriminatory and designed to serve the environmental, economic, and social needs of our country.

FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interest—more traditional rates of about 300,000 a year.

With more than 70,000 members nationwide, FAIR is a non-partisan group whose membership runs the gamut from liberal to conservative.

The ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.

Source: FAIR website 03n-FAIR on Dec 31, 2003

Rated 25% by USBC, indicating an open-border stance.

Berkley scores 25% 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

Improve visa process to get more travelers from China.

Berkley signed Welcoming Business Travelers and Tourists to America Act

A BILL: To promote job creation in the US by addressing inefficiencies in the visa processing system that discourage overseas business and leisure travel to the US.

    Congress finds the following:
  1. International travel to the US generates more than $134 billion annually in exports and supports 1.8 million US jobs
  2. Global travel spending is expected to double over the next decade, reaching $2.1 trillion
  3. While world-wide long-haul international travel grew by 40% between 2000 and 2010, the US market share of long-haul travel dropped from 17% in 2000 to 12% during the same timeframe
  4. Lagging overseas arrivals result in large part from a US visa application process that is perceived by potential business and leisure travelers as inefficient, time consuming, and inaccessible
  5. Removing the self-imposed barriers in the visa application process that currently discourage inbound international travel to the US would yield significant economic and public diplomacy benefits for the US
  6. Increased international travel to the US also achieves US foreign policy objectives by introducing foreign visitors to the US and to Americans, who are the US' best goodwill ambassadors.
THEREFORE:
Source: H.R.3039 11-HR3039 on Sep 23, 2011

More visas for families of lawful immigrants.

Berkley co-sponsored more visas for families of lawful immigrants

To temporarily increase, for five years, the number of visas available for backlogged spouses and children of lawful permanent resident aliens.

Source: Immigration Backlog Reduction Act (H.R.1854) 1999-H1854 on May 18, 1999

Limit non-visa entries by country.

Berkley signed limiting non-visa entries by country

A BILL: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive certain requirements under the visa waiver program for an additional 2 years.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, [that] Section 217(c)(8)(A)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) is amended--
  1. by striking 'June 30, 2009' and inserting 'June 30, 2011'; and
  2. by striking 'July 1, 2009' and inserting 'July 1, 2011'.
Source: Immigration and Nationality Act Amendment (H.R.2954) 2009-H2954 on Jun 18, 2009

Other candidates on Immigration: Shelley Berkley on other issues:
NV Gubernatorial:
Brian Sandoval
NV Senatorial:
Dean Heller
Harry Reid
John Ensign

NV politicians

Retiring as of Jan. 2013:
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NM:Bingaman(D)
TX:Hutchison(R)
VA:Webb(D)
WI:Kohl(D)


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Page last updated: Oct 17, 2012