WASHINGTON, March 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Obama administration joined leading Democratic lawmakers in affirming that securing our nation's borders will not be a precondition to amnesty for the estimated 12 million illegal aliens living in the U.S. The New York Times, citing an administration official, reports that the reason the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not developed an official metric for measuring border security over the past three years is "because the president did not want any hurdles placed on the pathway to eventual citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally."

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The position expressed by the senior administration official is identical to those posited by the three leading Senate Democrats promoting amnesty legislation. During the past month, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) have all stated that they do not believe securing our borders should be an impediment to amnesty.

"It could not be clearer. What is being sold as comprehensive immigration reform is in reality nothing more than comprehensive amnesty for millions of people who broke our laws," said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "Under plans being devised in secret, closed-door meetings on Capitol Hill, the only thing that would change is the status of millions of people who are here illegally, who would be eligible to compete for any job in America and, over time, become eligible for trillions of dollars in public benefits and services."

According to testimony Wednesday before the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security by Mark Borkowski, Assistant Commissioner of the United States Border Patrol, the index that Secretary Napolitano herself testified would be able to provide Congress and the American people with "the big picture" on the government's progress in securing the border, was in fact never intended to be such.

"The American people need to understand that the current administration has no intention of honoring any enforcement commitments that might be included in an amnesty bill. Both the administration and leading lawmakers are making it clear that enforcement will either be delayed endlessly or ignored altogether," said Stein.

"Moreover, how can Congress possibly consider passing mass amnesty legislation when the Department of Homeland Security admits it has no way of measuring whether the border is secure, and when Obama administration officials say they don't want one? Republicans can no longer maintain the pretense that they are bargaining away amnesty for assurances that the administration will enforce the law and seriously address illegal immigration once and for all. The administration will not even define border security, much less enforce it.

"An overhaul of our immigration policies must be accomplished incrementally beginning with measurable steps not just to secure our borders, but also ensure effective interior and workplace enforcement," continued Stein. "It is time for Republicans on Capitol Hill to acknowledge that the Obama administration and many of their congressional colleagues are not serious about anything other than legalizing illegal aliens and stop providing them with the political cover they need to betray the interests of American workers and taxpayers," Stein concluded.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organization of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest.

Visit FAIR's website at www.fairus.org.

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)