By State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh)

A rally was recently held in the Lehigh Valley by Democratic elected officials and special interest groups that tout “open borders.” They were speaking in opposition to my legislative package that seeks to address some of the problems created by illegal immigration in Pennsylvania. The individuals speaking at the event repeatedly chose to shift to the topic of legal immigration and divert attention from the focus of my legislative package – illegal immigration.

The general public understands this distinction though, and they are increasingly aware of the severity of the problem. A recent Quinnipiac University Poll (Jan 10, 2024) found, “An overwhelming majority of voters (84%) consider illegal immigration at the U.S. border with Mexico as either a very serious problem (59%) or a somewhat serious problem (25%), while 14% consider it as either a not so serious problem (11%) or not a problem at all (3%). Nearly eight in 10 voters (79%) also think Democratic congressional leaders should compromise on their positions on border security to come to an agreement with Republican congressional leaders, while 15% think they should not.”

A few elected Democrats are willing to acknowledge what I and other elected Republicans have been saying for the past few years, and the general public is now agreeing with – that illegal immigration is a problem and it needs to be addressed. In a Politico article from Dec. 7, 2023, Pennsylvania’s junior U.S. Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat himself, raised the issue for his party. “I hope Democrats can understand that it isn’t xenophobic to be concerned about the border,” Fetterman said. “It’s a reasonable conversation, and Democrats should engage.”

The story continues by saying, “Fetterman, a progressive favorite, urged Democrats to acknowledge the large numbers of migrants streaming across the southern border. He cited the nearly 270,000 border encounters that U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported in September.

“Honestly, it’s astonishing. And this isn’t a Fox News kind of statistic. This is the government’s,” he said. “You essentially have Pittsburgh showing up there at the border.”

The latest numbers from the federal government have shown the problem has not abated, but in fact has grown more severe. In December 2023 alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported more than 302,000 encounters at the southern border, which is the highest monthly rate ever recorded.

The federal government clearly bears responsibility for addressing this crisis. However, in the absence of their action, states can and should do whatever they can to implement bipartisan solutions that will help enforce existing laws and mitigate the consequences of federal inaction on illegal immigration.

The six-bill package I have introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives takes a reasonable approach. Similar measures, when allowed to come up for a vote, have passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support. For instance, when I offered an amendment to a bill that would help to prevent immigrants in the country illegally from buying a gun, it passed 141-60 (House Bill 1066 below). In addition, a law I authored in 2019 that requires employers in the construction industry to use the federal E-Verify system to ensure their workforce is made up of only those eligible to work in the U.S. passed with bipartisan supermajorities in both the House and Senate on its way to becoming law. (House Bill 274 below expands the use of E-Verify.)

My package of bills to address illegal immigration in Pennsylvania includes:

• House Bill 274, which would protect American jobs by requiring all public contractors and subcontractors to use the federal E-Verify system to ensure their employees do not include individuals not authorized to work in the U.S.
• House Bill 1066, which would require the Pennsylvania State Police to notify Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General of all attempts to purchase firearms by persons who are illegally or unlawfully in the U.S.
• House Bill 1714, which would provide stronger penalties for unscrupulous employers who take advantage of the most vulnerable children, and to provide cross reporting requirements that will notify other authorities to protect the child in specific situations, including cases of unaccompanied minors.
• House Bill 1840, which would prevent Pennsylvania municipalities and counties from designating themselves as sanctuary cities to thwart federal efforts to combat illegal immigration by restricting the enforcement of immigration law.
• House Bill 1883, which would improve the accuracy and integrity of voter registration records through a cross-reference with the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.
• House Bill 1890, which would clarify the state Constitution’s voter qualifications provisions, providing for a more specific prohibition on noncitizens voting in elections at any level in the Commonwealth.

I am hopeful these commonsense bills will advance in the General Assembly during the coming months to do what we can on the state level, while waiting for Washington, D.C., to finally take action.