Issue Position: Immigration

Issue Position

America is a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. As the son of an immigrant, I know firsthand that people who have come to America seeking better lives have made our country what it is today. But over the past few decades, the influx of illegal immigrants has overwhelmed cities and towns across New Jersey and the Ninth District.

Our laws are being broken every day by illegal immigrants who are crossing our borders, taking our jobs, and getting services and benefits that they haven't paid for and aren't entitled to.

The flood of illegal immigrants into our District has strained our educational, medical, and law enforcement systems, and has pushed our finances to the breaking point. New Jersey taxpayers should not have to pay for the health care and education of people who have broken our laws and are living here illegally -- but that is exactly what is happening all across our District.

Illegal immigration is also unfair to people around the world who have followed our laws and are waiting to legally enter our country. These workers, many of whom are highly skilled, often have to wait years to come to America. But at the same time we're letting illegal immigrants enter our country on a daily basis. This undermines the rule of law and our legal immigration system.

The Agosta Plan

We need to get control of illegal immigration by enforcing our current laws in a humane and compassionate manner. As your member of Congress, I will work to:

Enforce Our Existing Immigration Laws. We already have laws on the books to deal with illegal immigrants and to prevent illegals from receiving benefits paid for by our tax dollars. But most of these laws aren't being enforced, and the government often looks the other way when dealing with illegal aliens. We need to start implementing the laws we already have in place.

Secure Our Border. There are currently more than 10 million people living in our country illegally. Our first step should be to ensure that we're stopping more people from breaking into our country. We need to secure our border and ports of entry immediately to stem the tide of illegal immigrants so we can begin dealing with the millions already here.

Refuse To Grant Amnesty. Some politicians in Washington are proposing amnesty as a "solution" to the problem. But history shows that rewarding people who have broken our laws by giving them citizenship will only encourage more people to enter our country illegally. In the 1980s, politicians in Washington gave amnesty to more than three million illegal immigrants and said it would fix the problem. We now have more than 10 million people living here illegally. Amnesty didn't work in the 1980s and it won't work today.

Increase Worksite Enforcement. Illegal immigrants often work for cheaper wages than U.S. citizens and legal immigrants. We need to crack down on employers who take advantage of this and hire illegal immigrants instead of paying fair wages to hire District Nine residents.

Empower Our Local Officials To Enforce Immigration Laws. Police agencies across the District should have all the tools, power, and support from the Federal Government to enforce our existing immigration laws and ensure that illegal aliens aren't receiving benefits they're not entitled to.

Source