Issue Position: Immigration

Issue Position

For too long, this country's immigration policy has been ignored and unenforceable. We are a nation of immigrants, and it is clear that anyone who wants to come to this nation and properly follow the rules of admission to citizenship or legal status should be welcomed with open arms. But we must not reward those who violate our laws when coming into this country. People who have come to the United States illegally should not be given amnesty.

In order to address our immigration problems, I believe we must do three things:
1. Secure the northern and southern borders
2. Create a mandatory employment verification program
3. Increase enforcement measures inside the United States

Securing both the northern and southern borders is imperative, and must be the first step taken to protect our nation's safety. Such a task will require the hiring of new border patrol agents, as well as the utilization of new technology and infrastructure to enhance our security. I believe there must also be increased sharing of information and equipment between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. Better coordination throughout the federal government will go a long way towards conserving taxpayer dollars.

In addition, one of the problems of our current immigration policy is that too often, employers are unsure of the legal status of employees. I support a strengthening of the current "Basic Pilot" E-verify program. This program is a voluntary employment verification program administered by the Department of Homeland Security.

Finally, we must address the issue of what to do about the millions of people that are currently here illegally. I believe that we need to increase the strength of federal law enforcement by employing more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, as well as provide training for additional state and local law enforcement personnel.

Most of our illegal immigration problems result from the failure of our legal immigration system. Our legal immigration system is seriously backlogged, and needs to be updated. I strongly support efforts to reform our legal immigration system into a system that works.

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