H.R. 4437

The official Congressional summary of HR 4437:

The bill would tighten border security and increase enforcement of immigration laws. It would designate illegal migration as a criminal, rather than a civil, offense. It also would increase penalties for a variety of immigration-related crimes. It would create a mandatory program under which all employers would have to verify employees' work eligibility with the federal government. As amended, it would require the construction of security fencing, including lights and cameras, along certain ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The most telling part that this may suffer defeat in the Senate is the sentence that states "all employers would have to verify employees' work eligibility with the federal government." That's a kind of burden that no employer wants to face. It also seriously impedes their ability to manage their workforce. I haven't done enough research, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should be jumping up and down about this increased regulation and costs they will suffer.

Small-government Republicans should be against more intrusion into the daily life of Americans. Plus those Republicans that just raised the debt-ceiling of the United States and rail against tax-and-spend liberals will have a hard time justifying this added expenditure to the budget. California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas state governments should be pissed if the cost of building the fence is being financed by them.

I don't see it happening. Of course, crazier things have happened.