[kabar]

The bill is being cosponsored by David Vitter in the Senate. The bill would:

* Require employers to use the federal government's E-Verify database to make sure they're hiring legal workers.

* Increase the number of Border Patrol agents by 6,000.

* Create a pilot program to increase aerial surveillance and use other new technology to secure the border.

* Hire more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and create grants for some local law enforcement officials.

* Expedite removal of illegal immigrants by expanding detention capacity and adding immigration judges.

[OldDeckHand]

"The bill is being cosponsored by David Vitter in the Senate. The bill would: ..."

They all seem to be very reasonable and effective steps in the fight against illegal immigration. Which is exactly why it's dead-in-the-water. The Dems don't want to stop illegal immigration because that will be their power base in a few years. And, too many Republicans don't want to stop it because their big-business donors want to keep their labor costs as low as possible.

All it will do is bolster the bona fides of Shuler as a moderate, even a "conservative dem" (whatever that is) in his primarily conservative district.