Rep. Dennis Ross’ support for proposed immigration enforcement bills has earned him a place in Numbers USA’s “5-for-5 Club.” Numbers USA’s motto is “For Lower Immigration Levels.”
According to his website, Ross, R-Lakeland, supports immigration changes centered around “enforcement and security,” worker status verification tools for employers, and encouraging assimilation through English language training and civics and history education. His site says Ross is “opposed to amnesty” and dedicated to implementing “a smooth guest worker program.”
Numbers USA is an organization that espouses attrition through enforcement, which means “to make it extremely difficult for unauthorized persons to live and work in the United States.”
The organization’s “5-for-5 Club” members have cosponsored:
- End Chain Migration – H.R.692 introduced by Rep. Phil Gingrey
- Mandatory E-Verify – H.R.140 introduced by Rep. Steve King
- End Visa Lottery – H.R.704 introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte
- End Birthright Citizenship – H.R.140 introduced by Rep. Steve King
- Help Interior Enforcement – H.R.100 introduced by Rep. Marsha Blackburn
“Securing our borders, defending against the threats posed by drug cartels and terrorists, and creating an immigration system that works should be the goals of all Americans,” Ross said, according to the Numbers USA website. “I consider this 5-for-5 designation a clear demonstration that what I said during my campaign translated into my actions in Washington. I am honored by this designation and look forward to seeing these pieces of legislation become law.”
While only Ross has supported all five bills, other Florida GOP members of Congress have cosponsored some of them. Ross also cosponsored the indefinite detention bill filed by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
The indefinite detention bill would impact Cuban detainees because the U.S. government has no diplomatic relations with Cuba and cannot deport immigrants to Cuba after they finished their criminal sentences, leaving them in a post-removal limbo.
Florida Republicans Vern Buchanan, Richard Nugent, and C.W. Bill Young have also cosponsored that immigration enforcement bill, as well as HALT (“Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation”), another bill filed by Lamar Smith.
Opponents of these two bills argue that indefinite detention would violate due process and HALT would suspend deferred action and prosecutorial discretion, along with other hardship relief measures that protect U.S. citizens and legal residents, and relatives of undocumented immigrants.
