I am happy to report that the new House Republican strategy to address illegal immigration is picking up steam.  Last week, the conference unveiled a series of bills focused on border security and enforcement that we will be taking up over the next few weeks.  Most of these proposals were included in the broader House bill we already passed, but by breaking them up we will be able to send them to the Senate and hopefully circumvent the current stalemate with them over the guest worker issue.  This strategy will take the focus off of “comprehensive” plans and force the Senate to evaluate each piece of border security for their individual merit.

So far, it looks like it is working.  Last week, the House passed a bill to create 700 miles of border fence.  This leaves the Senate with no choice but to take up the bill, and they are expected to hold a vote later this week.  In the mean time, the House is scheduled to vote on three bills focused on border security and enforcement priorities:

H.R. 6089 – Combines the Dangerous Alien Detention Act and the State and Local Law Enforcement Cooperation in Enforcement of Immigration Law Act.
H.R. 6090 – Combines the Ending Catch and Release Act and the Alien Gang Removal Act.
H.R. 6091 – Combines the Alien Smuggler Prosecution Act, the Criminal Alien Removal Act and the Border Tunnel Prevention Act.