Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) has quickly established himself as a bipartisan leader on immigration reform, working on commonsense solutions to secure our borders, provide long-term certainty for undocumented children, and reform temporary worker visa programs that small businesses across the nation depend on to survive and support American jobs.
Senator Tillis on why immigration reform is important to him.
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Senator Tillis on why he introduced the SUCCEED Act, a solution for the DACA-eligible population.
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Senator Tillis on why border security is critical.
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Senator Tillis on why the H-2B Visa Program is needed to help support American jobs and businesses.
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Senator Tillis is laying the groundwork for broad immigration overhaul.
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Tillis is laying the groundwork for a methodical, step-by-step approach immigration reform that pairs immigration solutions supported by both parties.
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“A Republican senator is trying to break years of congressional gridlock over immigration with a new plan that would pair changes sought by Democrats with those pushed by his own party. At a time when President Donald Trump’s promise to build a wall along the southern border is dominating the immigration discussion, Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) has been talking with a handful of Democrats and Republicans to build support for a broader overhaul. His plan would aim to tighten border security and toughen enforcement of immigration laws—goals often cited by Republicans—while addressing the fate of the roughly 11 million immigrants currently in the U.S. illegally, a Democratic priority.” (Kristina Peterson & Laura Meckler, “GOP Senator Lays Groundwork for Broad Immigration Overhaul,” Wall Street Journal, 1/24/17)
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Senator Tillis has led efforts to reform the temporary working program.
Senator Tillis has also been at the forefront of efforts to reform temporary worker programs, including the H-2B visa program, which is vital to small and seasonal small employers in North Carolina and across the country who depend on temporary workers to sustain their businesses. Senators Tillis and Angus King (I-ME) introduced the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation that provides more long-term certainty for seasonal employers. Tillis also successfully urged the Department of Homeland Security to provide 15,000 additional H-2B visas to assist seasonal small businesses facing labor shortages this year.
| “Tillis has shown deep interest in immigration policy. He placed a ‘hold’ on one of Trump’s nominees for the Department of Homeland Security in July in an effort to pressure the department to approve more visas for guest workers. He removed the hold on Lee Francis Cissna to be director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services after DHS and then-Sec. John Kelly approved an additional 15,000 visas for workers who aid North Carolina’s landscaping, tourism and seafood-production industries.” (Franco Ordonez, “N.C. senator tosses Trump a conservative life raft for Dreamers,” McClatchy, 8/31/17) |
Senator Tillis is committed to finding a solution for the DACA population.
Senator Tillis has been a national leader in finding a solution to provide long-term certainty for undocumented children who were brought to the United States through no fault of their own. Following President Trump’s announcement in September that he was phasing out the DACA program in six months, Tillis introduced the SUCCEED Act, a fair and merit-based solution that allows the DACA-eligible population to earn and keep legal status as long as they work hard, give back to society, pay their taxes, and follow the law.
| “As Donald Trump was pressing his hard-line immigration platform en route to the GOP nomination last year, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis decided to go in a different direction entirely…The freshman senator from North Carolina is now making his biggest immigration play yet, unveiling a plan to provide permanent relief to the undocumented immigrants who came here as minors. If a deal can be done to win over the warring parties and a president who has swung back and forth on the issue, it might start with Tillis, who has methodically carved out a profile as a pro-immigration Republican at a time when the GOP has swerved sharply to the right.” (Seung Min Kim, “Meet the Republican who might cut a Dreamers deal,” Politico, 10/10/17) |
Tillis has also been an outspoken advocate for securing our nation’s borders.
Following a week-long visit to the Texas-Mexico border earlier this year, Tillis, along with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), introduced the Building America’s Trust Act, legislation that increases resources at our borders, boosts trade through ports of entry, and strengthens enforcement of existing immigration laws.
Tillis has warned about the continued consequences of insecure borders – including humanitarian risks to adults and children and the rise of narcoterrorist organizations that have contributed to the America’s opioid addiction crisis. Tillis has called on Republicans and Democrats to seek common ground and work on solutions.
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“I believe that a practical and effective approach to border security can gain the support of the Trump administration and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Moving forward, border security should initiate the first phase of a methodical, step by step process to immigration reform that will also strengthen interior enforcement, reform our legal immigration system, and address the undocumented population in the United States in a fair and compassionate way. Securing our border and reforming our broken immigration system will require all sides to demonstrate a willingness to work together and refuse to allow the perfect to become the enemy of good solutions.” (Thom Tillis, “Securing our border must be first step in immigration reform,” The Hill, 4/18/17).
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Senator Tillis has followed through on his calls for bipartisanship and is currently engaged in negotiations with both Democrat and Republican senators to reach a deal that would pair extensive border security and interior enforcement measures with a long-term solution for the DACA-eligible population.
| “…The North Carolina senator has emerged as one of the key lawmakers working across the aisle to compromise on immigration legislation. A key issue Tillis is trying to find consensus between Democrats and Republicans on providing legal protections to the nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children….Tillis is trying to find the sweet spot. The North Carolina Republican is part of a group of lawmakers who have been negotiating on how to pair legal protections for the Dreamers with enough increased border security to satisfy Republicans, but not be too extreme as to turn off Democrats.” (Eliza Collins, “On DACA, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis wants to find middle-ground,” USA Today, 12/13/17) |
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