The Issues
Immigration
The United States has always welcomed immigration. However, as Ronald Reagan pointed out, if you don't have a border, you don't have a country. Control over our southern border is necessary to maintain our identity as a country. And with Iran establishing a strong presence in Venezuela and Nicaragua, and aiding and abetting terrorist groups in Mexico, it is also vital to our national security.
Effective control over immigration need not deprive the country's economy of needed labor. And effective control of our border will diminish the cries for a national identity card.
While establishment of a security fence is a federal, not a state job, state governments can take steps to limit the effects of illegal immigration.
We must:
- Increase cooperation between state law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement.
- Use all available legal means to require local police forces to increase such cooperation.
- Increase penalties for hiring illegal labor, the lack of which currently places law-abiding businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
- Prohibit government contracting with companies that knowingly employ illegal aliens.
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