Jones Votes to Prohibit Funds for Obama's Amnesty Program | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Release:

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     Late last week, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) voted in favor of a bill preventing President Barack Obama from bypassing Congress to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants. Specifically, H.R. 5272 would prohibit any federal resources from being used to consider new or previously denied applications under the president's deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) program – a program which he issued under executive order in 2012 without congressional approval. Furthermore, the bill prohibits the authorization of deferred action for any other class of illegal immigrants.

    "President Obama has all but invited the flood of illegal immigrants across our borders by making it clear that his administration will do little to deport those who are caught," said Congressman Jones. "In order to put an end to the border crisis, we must immediately begin enforcing existing immigration laws. This bill is an important first step in dissuading future illegal arrivals by removing the incentive of citizenship for those who have broken our laws."

    In addition, Congressman Jones voted against a bill (H.R. 5230) that would provide President Obama with over $600 million to "solve" the border crisis, a crisis that is a direct result of the president's refusal to enforce current immigration laws. The bill fails to hold the executive accountable for how the money is used and in fact authorizes the use of funds to create facilities to house children who have illegally crossed the border until they have been given a hearing with a taxpayer-funded, court-appointed lawyer and child advocate. The bill would also require that 40 immigration judges be designated by Attorney General Eric Holder – a self-described "activist attorney general" with a clear liberal agenda – and require those judges to remain in place as long as Mr. Holder believes the crisis is ongoing.

    While supporters of H.R. 5230 claim that its costs are completely offset, in actuality it merely employs deceptive budget tactics. The bill would take $405 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Relief Fund; thus, the occurrence of a natural disaster would require the fund to be reimbursed through off-budget deficit spending in the form of emergency appropriations. It would take another $197 million from foreign aid funds but would specifically prohibit the taking of funds from aid going to Afghanistan, a country that has become a bastion of waste and abuse of American tax dollars.


    Sarah Howard
      Communications Director

    Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3)

     2333 Rayburn House Office Building
     Washington, DC 20515

     sarah.howard@mail.house.gov  •  (202) 225-3415