QUOTE
Rocky Mountain News
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opin...4712816,00.html
Controlling border a prerequisite to comprehensive immigration reform
By Sen. Wayne Allard
May 20, 2006
Perhaps no issue before the Senate in recent history has elicited more emotion from both sides of the debate than the issue of illegal immigration. My job as a U.S. senator is to see through the cloud of emotional rhetoric blurring the debate and act in the best interests of the United States and the citizens of Colorado.
The principle upon which I rely to guide me through this debate is simple: the rule of law.
While America is a nation of immigrants, it is also a nation of laws. The rule of law is the foundation of our society upon which all else is built, and without which all else would crumble. Immigration laws are no exception.
Because America is admired the world over as the land of opportunity, an untold number of the world's 6 billion people want to come to the United States in pursuit of that opportunity - and understandably so. Indeed, America is the land of opportunity, built on the spirit and hard work of immigrants. Recognizing that truth, America invited in more than 1 million new permanent immigrants last year - far more than any other country.
There is, however, a right way and a wrong way to enter this country. The millions of people who patiently waited - or who are waiting - to enter this country through one of many legal channels are examples of the right way. Sneaking across the border under the cover of darkness is an example of the wrong way.
Granting amnesty to millions of people who chose to enter this country illegally would reward those who broke the law at the expense of those who followed the law. Not only would this be wholly inconsistent with the rule of law, it would also encourage more illegal immigration, increase pressure on our borders, be a slap in the face to the millions of hard-working immigrants who came here legally, and penalize the 3 million people who are waiting patiently in line to enter this country legally.
Because we cannot reasonably expect to eliminate a problem by rewarding it, amnesty is not the answer.
While there is no easy answer to the problem of illegal immigration, one thing is for certain: the need to gain control of our borders. Securing the borders is the mandatory first step in comprehensive immigration reform. Without properly securing our borders, we remain vulnerable not only to illegal immigration, but also to others who wish harm to America, such as criminals, drug traffickers and terrorists. Of the 12 million illegal immigrants estimated to be here, approximately 40 percent have arrived here since 9/11. We simply cannot afford to take the risk of allowing people into our country without identifying who they are and why they are here. Thus, it is imperative that we secure the border, thereby driving potential threats to legal points of entry where we are best equipped to identify and stop them.
Only after we secure the border can we begin to implement more comprehensive reforms. I remain committed to comprehensive immigration reform, reform that includes enhanced border security, interior enforcement, and employer accountability. And while we must also address the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already here, we must, out of respect for the rule of law and the millions of legal immigrants, not reward them for breaking the law by granting amnesty.
I look forward to the upcoming opportunity to address an issue important to this country. I am confident that we can do so in a way that acknowledges the contribution of immigrants to our economy, culture and society while simultaneously preserving the bedrock principle upon which this country was founded: the rule of law.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., is in his second term in the U.S. Senate.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opin...4712816,00.html
Controlling border a prerequisite to comprehensive immigration reform
By Sen. Wayne Allard
May 20, 2006
Perhaps no issue before the Senate in recent history has elicited more emotion from both sides of the debate than the issue of illegal immigration. My job as a U.S. senator is to see through the cloud of emotional rhetoric blurring the debate and act in the best interests of the United States and the citizens of Colorado.
The principle upon which I rely to guide me through this debate is simple: the rule of law.
While America is a nation of immigrants, it is also a nation of laws. The rule of law is the foundation of our society upon which all else is built, and without which all else would crumble. Immigration laws are no exception.
Because America is admired the world over as the land of opportunity, an untold number of the world's 6 billion people want to come to the United States in pursuit of that opportunity - and understandably so. Indeed, America is the land of opportunity, built on the spirit and hard work of immigrants. Recognizing that truth, America invited in more than 1 million new permanent immigrants last year - far more than any other country.
There is, however, a right way and a wrong way to enter this country. The millions of people who patiently waited - or who are waiting - to enter this country through one of many legal channels are examples of the right way. Sneaking across the border under the cover of darkness is an example of the wrong way.
Granting amnesty to millions of people who chose to enter this country illegally would reward those who broke the law at the expense of those who followed the law. Not only would this be wholly inconsistent with the rule of law, it would also encourage more illegal immigration, increase pressure on our borders, be a slap in the face to the millions of hard-working immigrants who came here legally, and penalize the 3 million people who are waiting patiently in line to enter this country legally.
Because we cannot reasonably expect to eliminate a problem by rewarding it, amnesty is not the answer.
While there is no easy answer to the problem of illegal immigration, one thing is for certain: the need to gain control of our borders. Securing the borders is the mandatory first step in comprehensive immigration reform. Without properly securing our borders, we remain vulnerable not only to illegal immigration, but also to others who wish harm to America, such as criminals, drug traffickers and terrorists. Of the 12 million illegal immigrants estimated to be here, approximately 40 percent have arrived here since 9/11. We simply cannot afford to take the risk of allowing people into our country without identifying who they are and why they are here. Thus, it is imperative that we secure the border, thereby driving potential threats to legal points of entry where we are best equipped to identify and stop them.
Only after we secure the border can we begin to implement more comprehensive reforms. I remain committed to comprehensive immigration reform, reform that includes enhanced border security, interior enforcement, and employer accountability. And while we must also address the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already here, we must, out of respect for the rule of law and the millions of legal immigrants, not reward them for breaking the law by granting amnesty.
I look forward to the upcoming opportunity to address an issue important to this country. I am confident that we can do so in a way that acknowledges the contribution of immigrants to our economy, culture and society while simultaneously preserving the bedrock principle upon which this country was founded: the rule of law.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., is in his second term in the U.S. Senate.
Hector Mata © Afp © Getty Images © 2006
A sign posted outside Chula Vista, Calif., warns drivers on this highway south of San Diego near the U.S.-Mexico border to be on the lookout for people running across lanes of traffic. Most of these people are illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central and South America making their way north to new lives in the United States.
QUOTE
Rocky Mountain News
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opin...4712815,00.html
Compromise immigration proposal a 'tough, fair and practical' solution
By Sen. Ken Salazar
May 20, 2006
Our nation is embroiled in a debate of epic proportions about border security and the reality of illegal immigration. Our borders are undermanned and overwhelmed. In the past two decades, the number of undocumented immigrants living here has tripled to nearly 12 million.
Most of these individuals came to our country to work and provide for their families. But it is unacceptable that the federal government has permitted millions to cross our borders illegally, with no idea who is entering and for what purpose. Enforcement of our immigration laws has not kept pace with the flow of both legal and illegal immigration, and laws that deal with those who have crossed the border are so rarely enforced.
Over the last several weeks, I have been working with a bipartisan group of senators to enact realistic and comprehensive immigration reform that is tough, fair and practical.
The compromise proposal currently being debated by the U.S. Senate, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, has three major components: border security, immigration law enforcement and penalties and registration for the 12 million undocumented workers in the United States. The bill secures our borders by adding thousands of Border Patrol and enforcement agents, provides additional border fences, and requires the Department of Homeland Security to develop a "National Strategy for Border Security."
Under the bill, laws will be enforced so that businesses could not hire foreign workers unless they can prove to the federal government they actively recruited American workers and advertised jobs at fair wages, but still found no American workers. Temporary workers would undergo security checks before being allowed into the country.
The proposal establishes a realistic and rigorous 11-year path to citizenship. To complete the process immigrants must "go to the back of the line" behind applicants entering legally, register with the government, pay significant fines and penalties and contribute to society by holding down a steady job, obeying the law, learning English, U.S. history and civics, and paying back taxes. This is not an easy path, but it's a fair one for those who wish to be a part of our nation.
Like President Bush, I oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants already here. But, spending billions of dollars deporting these same individuals is unrealistic and unworkable.
In Colorado, over the past several months, I have met with leaders from Colorado's business, agriculture, labor, civil rights and faith communities. Their message to me and the U.S. Senate has been simple and clear: face economic reality, work in a bipartisan manner to enact sensible reforms to our immigration challenges and do it now. It's a message I have taken to heart.
No one has outlined this better than Colorado's dairy farmers. Chris Kraft, chairman of the Mountain Area Council of the Dairy Farmers of America, wrote that Colorado dairy farm families support reform that provides "an affordable and efficient guest-worker program that ensures the continued availability of immigrant labor for all of agriculture."
He concludes, "failing to provide for orderly flows of greatly needed workers will create enormous economic consequences to our industry and all of agriculture in Colorado."
Kraft is right; failure will have a negative affect on Colorado's economy and way of life. Colorado has 30,000 farms and ranches, and agribusiness contributes more than $16 billion to the state's economy annually while employing more than 105,000 people. For every farm worker job we lose, three to four jobs will be lost in related economic sectors. This is a sobering reality.
Our borders are porous and nearly 12 million people live here illegally. We can and must face this reality, secure our borders, bring law and order back to our nation's immigration laws and enact tough, fair and practical rules that deal with the millions of people already here. We as a nation can afford no less for our security, economy and our future.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., is in his first term in the U.S. Senate.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opin...4712815,00.html
Compromise immigration proposal a 'tough, fair and practical' solution
By Sen. Ken Salazar
May 20, 2006
Our nation is embroiled in a debate of epic proportions about border security and the reality of illegal immigration. Our borders are undermanned and overwhelmed. In the past two decades, the number of undocumented immigrants living here has tripled to nearly 12 million.
Most of these individuals came to our country to work and provide for their families. But it is unacceptable that the federal government has permitted millions to cross our borders illegally, with no idea who is entering and for what purpose. Enforcement of our immigration laws has not kept pace with the flow of both legal and illegal immigration, and laws that deal with those who have crossed the border are so rarely enforced.
Over the last several weeks, I have been working with a bipartisan group of senators to enact realistic and comprehensive immigration reform that is tough, fair and practical.
The compromise proposal currently being debated by the U.S. Senate, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, has three major components: border security, immigration law enforcement and penalties and registration for the 12 million undocumented workers in the United States. The bill secures our borders by adding thousands of Border Patrol and enforcement agents, provides additional border fences, and requires the Department of Homeland Security to develop a "National Strategy for Border Security."
Under the bill, laws will be enforced so that businesses could not hire foreign workers unless they can prove to the federal government they actively recruited American workers and advertised jobs at fair wages, but still found no American workers. Temporary workers would undergo security checks before being allowed into the country.
The proposal establishes a realistic and rigorous 11-year path to citizenship. To complete the process immigrants must "go to the back of the line" behind applicants entering legally, register with the government, pay significant fines and penalties and contribute to society by holding down a steady job, obeying the law, learning English, U.S. history and civics, and paying back taxes. This is not an easy path, but it's a fair one for those who wish to be a part of our nation.
Like President Bush, I oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants already here. But, spending billions of dollars deporting these same individuals is unrealistic and unworkable.
In Colorado, over the past several months, I have met with leaders from Colorado's business, agriculture, labor, civil rights and faith communities. Their message to me and the U.S. Senate has been simple and clear: face economic reality, work in a bipartisan manner to enact sensible reforms to our immigration challenges and do it now. It's a message I have taken to heart.
No one has outlined this better than Colorado's dairy farmers. Chris Kraft, chairman of the Mountain Area Council of the Dairy Farmers of America, wrote that Colorado dairy farm families support reform that provides "an affordable and efficient guest-worker program that ensures the continued availability of immigrant labor for all of agriculture."
He concludes, "failing to provide for orderly flows of greatly needed workers will create enormous economic consequences to our industry and all of agriculture in Colorado."
Kraft is right; failure will have a negative affect on Colorado's economy and way of life. Colorado has 30,000 farms and ranches, and agribusiness contributes more than $16 billion to the state's economy annually while employing more than 105,000 people. For every farm worker job we lose, three to four jobs will be lost in related economic sectors. This is a sobering reality.
Our borders are porous and nearly 12 million people live here illegally. We can and must face this reality, secure our borders, bring law and order back to our nation's immigration laws and enact tough, fair and practical rules that deal with the millions of people already here. We as a nation can afford no less for our security, economy and our future.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., is in his first term in the U.S. Senate.
For whatever reason, I favor Wayne Allard's view on this issue over Salazar's. I don't have sympathy for the Colorado dairy farmer. It's probably a big factory farm anyway. I think we should encourage small farms.
I do see the impracticality of trying to deport 12 million people. But I also see the impracticality of trying to collect fines from them, get them registered and requiring them to pass through all the hoops of trying to become citizens.
I feel the population of San Diego County is already too large and I don't want it any larger. And, I think controls on the flow of immigrants, legal immigrants, is wise policy. Allowing illegal immigrants to flout the law and be seemingly rewarded is wrong in my opinion.
I disapprove of the guest worker program, as I think it is unfair to American workers.
Everyone I talk to here feels the same way I do. Maybe it's because we are so affected by the problem. That photo of the family crossing the freeway is very familiar here, although now, because of stricter controls at certain points in the border, illegals are crossing more into the rough countryside and avoiding high population areas. But some of them are dying out there. Sometimes we have high speed chases where there's a whole truckload of these people crammed in like sardines. It's ridiculous.
Someone said that we should give direct aid to Mexico. I would be all for that solution. They are the ones who need to get their act together. Is this problem going to go on forever?
Employers need to be severely penalized for hiring illegals. There is no excuse. Why not beef up the force that goes after the employers?
Anyway, that's my view.