Rep. Lou Barletta Forms Freshmen Immigration Caucus; Will Introduce Sanctuary City Bill

Rep. Lou Barletta Forms Freshmen Immigration Caucus; Will Introduce Sanctuary City Bill

Wednesday, May 4, 2011, 1:36 PM EDT - posted on NumbersUSA

Rep. Lou Barletta

Freshman Rep. Lou Barletta has officially announced the creation of a freshmen caucus that will examine current immigration policy and look for ways to crack down on illegal immigration. Rep. Barletta was identified as a "True Reformer" during the mid-term elections, and before being elected to Congress, was the mayor of Hazelton, Penn. where he signed one of the nation's first local ordinances cracking down on illegal immigration.

“The American people sent me here last November to fix Washington. They sent me here to fix our broken system. I know I’m not alone in that. All across the country, the American people voted in new members of Congress and gave them the same order: Fix what’s broken. That’s why I’m proud to announce today the creation of the 112th Congress Immigration Reform Caucus. I’m putting together a group of freshman members to address the problem of illegal immigration in this country,” Rep. Barletta said in a press release. “I’m optimistic that other new members of Congress who are concerned about our flawed immigration system will join this caucus so we can devise some real solutions.”

In conjunction with the formation of the new caucus, Rep. Barletta also announced that he plans to introduce the Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act. The MASC Act would crack down on cities whose elected officials have willfully chosen to not enforce immigration policy by withholding all federal funding from them as long as their sanctuary policies are in place.

“The elected officials of more than a hundred American cities – including some of our largest cities in the country – willfully ignore federal immigration policy by declaring themselves ‘sanctuary cities.’ Local elected officials who choose to ignore enforcement of federal immigration policy are aiding and assisting illegal aliens, and it is illegal to aid and abet those who are in this country illegally. They should not receive millions or even billions in tax dollars as a reward,” Rep. Barletta said.

“Elected officials of local municipalities cannot pick and choose the federal laws they enforce,” he added. “If the elected leaders of these cities choose to ignore federal law, then they should not expect to get federal money. My bill will keep federal tax dollars from going to cities whose elected officials defy federal law.”

Rep. Barletta has co-sponsored two bills that are part of our 5 Great Immigration-Reduction Solutions.