Issue Position: Immigration

Issue Position

he United States is a nation of immigrants and was founded on ideals that honor this tradition. The feedback I hear from my neighbors in south-central Michigan and other Americans is nearly unanimous: our immigration system is broken. I believe it is dire need of reform, and I propose we begin with:

Securing Our Borders:

Failing to secure our borders and ports of entry poses a security risk to our citizens and ignores the rule of law. As a Member of the Homeland Security Committee, I will carefully review our border security measures and our transportation screening procedures. We must continue to improve our operational control of our land and maritime borders, and I support an increase in the number of U.S. Border Patrol Agents.

Enforcing the Law:

With over 11 million illegal aliens currently living in the United States, it is apparent that we need to do more to uphold our laws. I support a secure and accurate employee verification system, and I believe we must empower state and local law enforcement and equip Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce federal immigration law. Sanctuary cities should be discouraged, the fraudulent use of identification documents by illegal aliens must be curtailed, and blanket amnesty must be taken off the table.

Cutting the Red-Tape for Legal Immigration:

Immigrants who want to join our citizenry should be encouraged and assisted in doing so the same way millions of immigrants have legally done so for generations. We need to create a work permit program that eliminates bureaucratic red-tape and meets the evolving needs of our agricultural, educational, and technological sectors, as well as our landscaping, construction and tourist industries.

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