Senators tell Bush new legislation is not needed, border security triggers can be reached under current law

Nine Republican senators have written a letter to President Bush urging him to fulfill the border security provisions listed in the Senate immigration bill whether the legislation passes or not. Each of the border security triggers in the bill can be implemented under current law without any need for new legislation from Congress.

They said:

We respectfully ask that your Administration enforce the border security laws that have already been authorized by Congress regardless of whether the Senate passes the immigration reform bill. The bill assumes that several critical border security benchmarks can be achieved within 18 months. These security triggers are already authorized under current law and can be completed without the immigration bill. We believe these enforcement measures are vital and should not wait until Congress passes additional immigration reforms.

Securing the border is the best way to restore trust with the American people and facilitate future improvements of our immigration policy.

Signed by:
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R, South Carolina), U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R, Oklahoma), U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R , Wyoming), U.S. Senator David Vitter (R, Louisiana), U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R, Oklahoma), U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R, Kentucky), U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R, Iowa), U.S. Senator John Ensign (R, Nevada), U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R, Alabama)