House approves Voter ID bill

The House of Representatives passed the SAVE America Act as an amendment to a Senate bill (S. 1383) on Wednesday night by a vote of 218 to 213. The bill passed mostly along party lines, with just one Democrat (Rep. Henry Cuellar) supporting the bill along with all Republicans. 

The Immigration Accountability Project was a founding member of the Only Citizens Vote Coalition that helped generate support for the bill. IAP was honored to have our cofounder and Policy Director, Rosemary Jenks, join House Republican Leadership and the bill's lead sponsor, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), at the press conference they held moments after the bill passed.

From Left: Rosemary Jenks (IAP), Whip Tom Emmer (R, WI), Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R, MI), Donald T. Eason (CURE),  Rep. Bryan Steil (R, WI), Rep. Chip Roy (R, TX), Jenny Beth Martin (Tea Party Patriots), Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA), and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R, LA)

This is the second time during the current Congress that the House has passed some version of the SAVE Act. The original bill (H.R. 22), which passed last year with more Democratic support, requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. The updated SAVE America Act also requires every individual to provide a photo ID prior to casting a vote in a federal election.

The text of the SAVE America Act was inserted into a Senate-passed bill, S. 1383, and passed by the House in order to avoid a filibuster in the Senate. The bill will be sent back to the Senate as a “message” (essentially telling the Senate that the House amended the bill), so it doesn’t require 60 votes to proceed to a debate of the bill. The SAVE America Act can be passed in the Senate with a simple majority, but it will still require 60 votes to end the debate, unless Senators agree to employ the “talking filibuster.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune failed to act on the original SAVE Act, but there's increased pressure from the White House and conservatives to bring the SAVE America Act to the floor for a vote. As noted above, a simple majority is needed for passage, but Senate rules require 60 votes to end debate on the bill. Several conservative groups, including the Immigration Accountability Project, are urging Leader Thune to utilize the talking filibuster to get the bill to the President’s desk. This would require Democrats to continuously hold the floor to prevent a vote until each Senator has had two opportunities to speak. At that point, the vote would be called, and a simple majority would suffice.

DHS set to shut down

Senate Democrats rejected the House-passed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill yesterday, so DHS funding expires at midnight tonight.

Democrats are demanding provisions be added to the DHS funding bill that would place significant restrictions on immigration enforcement. These restrictions would protect nearly every illegal alien from deportation. Democrats say they will keep DHS shuttered until their demands are met. 

The shutdown will not only affect ICE but also Customs and Border Protection, TSA, FEMA, the Secret Service, and the Coast Guard. However, since most of DHS's 260,000 employees are deemed essential, the department will continue to operate. Most employees won't be paid until the shutdown ends.

Negotiations between the White House and Senate appear to be at a stalemate. The House and Senate have recessed for the President's Day holiday week and won't return until the week of Feb. 23.

Support for the SAVE America Act boosts Republicans in Immigration Rankings

With this week's introduction in both the House and Senate of the SAVE America Act, more than 100 Republican Members across both chambers made significant moves up the rankings in this week's release of IAP Action's Congressional Immigration Rankings. IAP Action rates the bill as Key Legislation.

Reps. Sam Graves (R-MO) and David Joyce (R-OH) made the biggest moves on the House side, jumping 36 spots. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) made the biggest move in the Senate, jumping up 5 spots and entering the Senate’s Top 10. Sen. Cotton now ranks 6th overall in the Senate.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) saw the biggest drop, falling 22 spots in the House rankings. Rep. McCollum cosponsored Rep. Maria Salazar's (R-FL) Dignity Act, H.R. 4393, that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.

See the full Immigration Rankings at IAPAction.com.

Immigration Articles

The Hill: Homan on ICE Minneapolis pullback: ‘If we need to come back, we’ll come back’

After announcing yesterday that the primary surge of agents to Minneapolis was over, Border Czar Tom Homan clarified, “This is ending the surge, but we’re not going away.”

Lawfare: Trump’s $100K H-1B Visa Fee May Be Here to Stay

Lawfare Media breaks down the District Court ruling upholding the Trump Administration’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee as it heads to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

National Bureau of Economic Research: The H-1B Wage Gap, Visa Fees, and Employer Demand

This NBER working paper by George J. Borjas finds that H-1B workers earn approximately 16 percent less than comparable native workers, with H-1B software developers earning a full 30 percent less. The study also explores the impact of placing a significant fee on H-1B applications.

Next Week

The House and Senate are scheduled to be out next week while negotiations with the White House and Democratic leaders over DHS funding continue. Speaker Johnson has told Members he will give them 48 hours' notice to return to town to vote to fund DHS if an agreement is reached.