When I first announced my Border Security bill last fall, people across America were talking about securing our borders but there wasn’t any action. No bill in Congress was moving because most of the efforts tried to tackle everything and ended up doing nothing.

I proposed changing the way we address immigration reform and have introduced a bipartisan bill in the Senate that focuses on Border Security first. Until we secure our borders, the United States will never be able to control the deeper problems of illegal immigration so we can adequately address this crucial issue.

My comprehensive proposal would add 3,000 border patrol agents per year for five years and enhance border security technology. I also add 1,000 new investigative personnel dedicated to stopping immigrant smuggling, 10,000 new Department of Homeland Security investigators dedicated to worksite enforcement, and 5,000 immigration enforcement agents dedicated to fraud detection.

At the same time, I give employers the tools they need to confirm the status of prospective employees to ensure that they are following the law. If the companies have completed the verification process they will be protected in their hiring decisions. If, however, a company ignores the process and hires illegal immigrants anyway, my bill enhances the penalties for breaking the law.

In addition to aiding employers identify illegal immigrants, my bill also helps border security agents to stop immigrant smuggling, human trafficking, and other border offenses. This will ensure that gangs, organized crime, and individuals looking to exploit illegal immigrants for profit are prosecuted and prevented from putting immigrants in harms way. Currently, these offenders are difficult to prosecute and are soon back committing new offenses of the same old crime.

I understand there’s been some confusion about who this bill targets. I’d like to set the record straight and clarify that this section of my bill is NOT aimed at prosecuting any religious or humanitarian groups who assist individuals in need. These people are not prosecuted now nor will they be in the future.

Instead, we need to stop the criminals who are smuggling people for financial gain and commercial profit. They are the ones hurting immigrants, not our religious and non-profit groups.

The final portion of my comprehensive proposal ensures that we stop issuing visas to individuals from countries that do not cooperate with the United States when we need to repatriate foreign nationals who have committed violent crimes while in the United States. My bill also puts an end to a visa lottery system that lacks background checks and passes over immigrants who have been patiently waiting for legal status and going through the proper channels to gain their citizenship.

I will continue to move forward on border security first. By implementing tough new changes to secure our borders we can take an important first step toward addressing illegal immigration.