SOUTH BEND — Congressman Joe Donnelly says the U.S. Border Patrol needs more resources to fight illegal immigration. He just returned from a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border. Donnelly is co-sponsoring the SAVE Act — SAVE stands for Secure America with Verification and Enforcement.

The bill would add 8,000 new agents to the Border Patrol over the next four years. It would also require all employers to verify their workers' status or risk losing tax deductions.

Rep. Donnelly visited the Border Patrol’s operation at San Ysidro in California, the busiest in the world.

More than 60 million people pass through each year.

Rep. Donnelly saw first hand the challenges border agents face.

“They need more resources, they need more agents, they need more technology and they need more assistance to try to make sure that the border works well,” he said.

So he says he will continue to support the SAVE Act, which would provide more agents and more technology to help stem the tide of illegal immigrants. It would also go after businesses who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

“People are coming here to take care of their families,” Rep. Donnelly said. “Now, my goal and my belief is that they should come here following the legal process and that's what we want them to do.”

Some voters support the congressman's efforts.

“I'm under the impression, we've got laws, let's follow. That what they put them there for,” said Paul Elkins of South Bend.

But critics say the bill is flawed.

“He's trying to do it by, essentially once again, treating the symptom rather than the cause,” said Allert Brown-Gort, director of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame. “The reality is that, if he is really successful, this is going to have a huge economic impact.”

He says all the SAVE Act would do is push more undocumented immigrants into the shadows, making the problem worse.

“It's time to confront reality and say our society, our economy, needs these types of workers," Brown-Gort said. "Let's work together to put into place a way that they can come in legally.”

The SAVE act would cost millions of dollars, but Donnelly says it will be funded without adding to the budget deficit. The bill has been referred to committees, but Brown-Gort and other observers say it may not be passed out of Congress at all this year.