Immigration

Like many, I’m disappointed with our elected officials ignoring this issue and the inability of Congress to get something done. Immigration is an issue of national and economic security.

As we all know, most Americans are descended from immigrants, myself included. America has grown into a strong nation in part because of the contributions of generations of new immigrants. Unfortunately, today the immigration story is different in America. It’s the story of a system that’s broken. The lack of leadership and willingness to tackle this issue over the last 10 to 20 years has created an epidemic that threatens our security.

I believe that illegal immigration works as a hidden tax on the American middle class by driving down wages and increasing the cost of social services. Those who do not have legal residency status and wish to live and work in the United States should be required to return to their home countries and apply for legal residency. Amnesty is not the answer. We should not reward those who have broken our laws.

Too many of our elected officials are unwilling to act or turn a blind eye to this problem. Many initiatives can be undertaken to help solve this problem, but these initiatives are not being moved forward.

A few steps that should be addressed immediately:

We must build the border security fence along our southern border as authorized by Congress.
We must create a tamper-proof system to determine instantly whether an immigrant to America who is applying for a job is legally entitled to work inside the United States. Those employers who are found to knowingly hire illegal immigrants should be penalized. Flagrant violation of the law should not be a profitable enterprise.
To help combat the problem, local law enforcement officials should be empowered to serve as immigration officials as allowed through the 287g clause of the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act.
All immigrant applicants should be required to demonstrate a basic working knowledge of the English language in order to earn their legal status in America. English is the language of commerce, education, and law and it is to every citizen’s advantage that we are all conversant.

We began airing a radio advertisement on this issue on November 20. You may listen to it here.