Issue Position: Immigration and Border Security

Issue Position

The United States has achieved greatness by being the land of opportunity, where people have come from around the world to build, explore, and make a better future for themselves and their families. We must never abandon our commitment to this dream, but we must also realize that not all who seek to come here have good intentions. As Americans, we expect our national government to keep us safe from criminals and terrorists, whether they are native to this country or cross our borders.

We need a sane and humane plan to keep America safe while allowing honest people to enter our country. The idea of building a "Berlin Wall" along our borders is repugnant. It will cost untold billions and may someday be used to keep Americans from fleeing domestic tyranny. Ronald Reagan supported a sensible guest worker program in the 1980s. A similar program can work in the 21st century. We must create and enforce adequate safeguards to deter terrorists and other criminals from entering the United States, but we must be extremely careful that misplaced zeal for immigration-control measures does not compromise the civil liberties of all Americans and provide a back door for a national ID program.

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