Illegal Immigration
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
From the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus. It is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty
Principles
Since our existence, the United States has been attractive to foreigners looking for more opportunity and more freedom. It is said that we are a "nation of immigrants". But we are also a nation of laws. We are also a nation susceptible to terrorist attacks. For these reasons we should apply two principals to our nation's immigration policies.
- Stronger border security.
- No amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Dan's View
Border Security and Amnesty
The debate over illegal immigration has inflamed passions across the Nation. I have been, and continue to be, a strong and vocal advocate for tougher border security. I firmly believe that first and foremost we must stop the flood of humans and contraband flowing into our country, and we should deploy whatever means are necessary - drones, fences, high technology surveillance and increased border agents - to accomplish this vital national security task.
The next problem we must deal with is what to do with the estimated 12 to 18 million illegal aliens already in this country. A multitude of potential solutions have been proposed by my colleagues in the House and Senate. I do not support amnesty. Amnesty only rewards people for breaking our laws and encourages others to do the same. We tried amnesty during the 1980s when we passed the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (which I voted against) when we only had an estimated 3 million illegal aliens in this country. It was a complete failure. Amnesty does not work.
English
The United States of America is the most open society in history, and the cornerstone of our great Nation is - and probably always will be - our diversity. There is little doubt that legal immigrants - those who have played by the rules and waited their turn in line - have made significant contributions that strengthen and enrich the fabric of our American society. But the common thread binding all of these diverse individuals into one coherent society has been the English language. In recent years we have forgotten this simple truth and tried to adopt the language of other cultures as well as English. The end result has produced even greater difficulties and skyrocketing costs just to communicate with each other.
Furthermore, this drive toward multilingualism has only fractured our society into ethnic groups and inflamed ethnic tensions. That is why I firmly believe that English should be our national language, and that anyone who wants to become a United States citizen must first learn and understand English, our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Social Security Benefits
By giving social services to illegal immigrants, we are implicitly condoning their illegal activity and undermining the efforts and commitment of immigrants who choose to respect and abide by our laws, and enter America the legal way. We need to be clear that there is a right way to come to our country, and ideally only when someone goes through the proper channels should they be recognized and helped.
On January 4, 2007, Representative Ron Paul of Texas introduced the "Social Security for Americans Only Act of 2007" (H.R. 190). This bill, of which I was a cosponsor, would amend the Social Security Act to prohibit people who are not citizens or nationals of the United States from being credited for coverage under the Social Security program. In addition, the bill ends the practice of totalization; where the Social Security Administration takes into account the number of year's an individual worked abroad, and thus was not paying payroll taxes, in determining that individual's eligibility for Social Security benefits.
Dan's Record
In 2007, I introduced the Border Security and Elimination of Sanctuary for Illegal Aliens Act of 2007 (HR3638). The Act did the following:
- Border Security and Elimination of Sanctuary for Illegal Aliens Act of 2007 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the worsening crisis of illegal immigration must be solved.
- Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) increase incentives to recruit Border Patrol agents through repayment of higher education loans; (2) establish a retention program; and (3) make construction of border fencing a priority.
Authorizes the Secretary to deploy newly-developed technology along the land and maritime borders. - Requires that a state or local law enforcement agency that arrests an alien unlawfully in the United States for any reason shall notify United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement respecting such arrest and provide the identity of the arrested person. Provides for: (1) such person's expedited removal from the United States, and (2) criminal penalties and expedited removal for a subsequent unlawful presence.
- Makes inadmissible to the United States an alien who has been unlawfully present in the United States and who attempts to illegally enter or reenter the United States. (Under current law, such person must be unlawfully in the United States for an aggregate period exceeding one year.)
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