[](/sites/default/files/uploads/2013/04/Border-Fence.jpg)The “exit system,” one of the so-called triggers in the Gang of 8 immigration bill, while sounding tough, appears to be largely a sham, according to an analysis by Frontpage Magazine. Some of the flaws include: that all enforcement mechanisms won’t be required for the first five years, that it is essentially the reauthorization of a system that’s already had funding authorized five times without any action, that biometric identification will not be required, and that the system does not require any identification in road exits.
To explain: One of the mandates in the new immigration bill is a mandate to develop an “exit tracking system.” This is an important system because it’s estimated that about 40% of the illegal aliens in the USA came here legally, but overstayed their visas. An exit system would not only track all non-citizens that have left the country, but theoretically, alert authorities when someone has stayed longer than they were supposed to.
During the Clinton administration, in 1996, such a system was first mandated and money was appropriated. Since that time, the system was mandated and appropriated for five more times. That system remains largely ineffective even though the Obama administration has spent tens of trillions of dollars and had six prior mandates to develop one. There’s no special language in this bill that should lead anyone to believe that now things will suddenly be different.
Furthermore, none of the exit tracking enforcement mechanisms will be required to be in place for five years. Meanwhile, all those individuals that are now in the US illegally will be provided with provisional legal status immediately.
Another problem with the bill is that it only mandates for exit tracking system at air and sea ports, even though a plurality of all individuals that exit the country do it by road. Finally, the system doesn’t mandate a biometric system, but rather by using an individual’s name done in a data entry manner.
It should be noted that one reason that Tamerlan Tsarnaev didn’t raise more red flags was because his name was misspelled in exactly such a data entry system on more than one occasion.
Last week, Frontpage Magazine reported that illegal aliens with as many as two separate misdemeanor convictions would still become legal provisionally under this bill. This exit system is now the second example in which a close examination of the language in the bill has shown that the supposedly “tough” border enforcement triggers have instead appeared to be a sham.
The current bill is 844 pages and the so-called markup process has already begun. The markup process is when any other senator can add an amendment to the bill and that amendment will be voted on. It is during the markup process that bills are intended to be made better and examined in more detail.
While the markup process has already begun, it is not expected to be finished for several more weeks. That’s because the Senate is scheduled to take one of many breaks next week, and so the process will be stalled until after they return.
There should still be at least two weeks of debate during the markup process. It is during this time that senators can most be encouraged to do their part to make parts of the bill better, including by demanding that a bill not be brought to the floor unless it contains real border security enforcement.
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