Lamar Smith: Why not use the immigration tools Congress already passed?

For over 200 years, immigrants coming to our nation have found hope at their first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. The words written at its base, "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," capture the American identity.

That is why the debate over immigration is so important to the American people. It strikes at the heart of what our nation stands for – freedom, equality and opportunity for all. But in order to preserve these ideals, we must put an end to illegal immigration.

Texans may understand this better than anyone else. As a border state, we experience the immediate impact of illegal immigration in our schools, our hospitals and our communities. We also understand what many elected officials still don't – rewarding lawbreakers with amnesty only encourages a new flood of illegal immigrants.

Nearly half a million people come illegally to the U.S. each year.

Add that to the 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants who are currently living here and you have a city twice the size of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Clearly this is a growing problem that Congress must address.

And in fact, we did address it – more than 10 years ago.

In 1996, Congress passed comprehensive immigration reform to put an end to the growing problem. Unfortunately, both Republican and Democratic administrations refused to enforce the law.

So Congress spent the past decade passing more laws to try to quell the flood of illegal immigration. These too remain largely unenforced.

For example, in 2006 Congress called on the administration to secure one-third of the border with a fence.

The Secure Fence Act authorized the Department of Homeland Security to build more than 700 miles of fencing along the southwest border. To date, only 167 miles of fencing have been constructed.

Congress also gave the administration the authority to put an end to the job magnet that draws illegal immigrants.

And although that law was enacted in 1986, 7 million illegal immigrants are working in the U.S.

In 1996, Congress prohibited public colleges from giving preferential treatment to illegal immigrants.

The law required colleges and universities that offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants to also offer in-state rates to all U.S. students.

But to date, the Department of Justice has not filed a single suit to stop the 10 states that violate this law.

American taxpayers foot the bill for public education. If anyone receives the benefit of in-state tuition, it should be those who pay for it.

These are just a few of the many tools Congress has given the administration to enforce immigration laws.

But at the end of the day it doesn't matter how many laws Congress passes if the administration simply disregards them.

And it doesn't matter how many tools we give, if Homeland Security refuses to use them.

America has the most generous immigration policy in the world, admitting one million legal immigrants every year.

These individuals follow our laws and wait in line as they anticipate their chance to live the American dream.

But in order to sustain such a high level of legal immigration, we must first curb the flood of illegal immigration.

No new tools are required. No new laws are needed. We simply need the administration to enforce the immigration laws that Congress has already passed.