Our borders must be secure before we can move forward with other immigration reform proposals.  Congress last passed immigration reform twenty years ago, and since then America’s illegal immigrant population has grown from two and a half million to about 12 million.  That so called reform included amnesty proposals, similar to the ones being considered by the Senate, without securing our border.  We must not make this mistake again.

The President recently addressed the nation and outlined a comprehensive approach to immigration reform.  His plan called for sending shifts of 6,000 National Guards to the southern border to assist border control officers in securing the border.  This would be a positive step toward securing what has become a truly lawless environment. 

An amendment was also recently added to the Defense bill with my strong support which authorizes the President to use the Armed Forces to help secure the border.  Another amendment to the same bill allows the deployment of all the technology available, from heat sensors to motion detectors to surveillance with helicopters and video, to stop people from crossing the border illegally.

Once we secure the border and restrict the influx of illegal immigrants, we can then address the huge problem of what do with the illegal immigrant population already here.  We need a strict and tough path to citizenship for these people, but we must uphold the rule of law.  The Senate version of immigration reform is not an acceptable proposal.  Border security should be a primary objective.