A key Senate committee agrees that there should not be a fee to cross the border into the United States.
The Judiciary Committee began work Thursday on the immigration overhaul bill.
Senator Patrick Leahy offered an amendment that would prohibit fees at land border crossings. The Obama administration suggested such a fee in its budget this year.
Leahy says the proposal would hurt the economy because Canada is the Number One trading partner of the U.S.
“We have 300,000 Canadians visit the United States every day. Why would we do anything to block this? I mean, we ought to practically be carrying them across the border, to say, ‘Come down and visit us,’” Leahy said.
The border crossing fee amendment is one of several hundred that the Judiciary Committee must consider as it works toward a final version of the immigration bill.
The committee adopted it on a bipartisan voice vote. Leahy chairs the Judiciary Committee and is pushing for a vote on the full bill before Congress breaks for its spring recess.
