Press Republican - Congressional Candidates Fire Off on Border Issues

News Article

By Joe LoTemplio

When it comes to border, the candidates for the 21st Congressional District agree the southern one needs major attention and the northern one must foster free flow of goods and services with Canada.

Republican Elise Stefanik, Democrat Aaron Woolf and Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello oppose outright amnesty and support investing in infrastructure for the northern border.

But when the issue expands to immigration policies and northern border security, they have differing views.

They addressed their opinions on border issues with the Press-Republican via interviews and statements.

CITIZENSHIP PATHWAY

"The issue at the southern border is further evidence that we need to fix our broken immigration system," Woolf said.

"The Senate did its job by passing a comprehensive immigration-reform bill. But under the leadership of Elise Stefanik's champion -- Speaker John Boehner -- that bill has stalled and along with it, any hopes of securing our borders."

Woolf said he opposes amnesty and supports a "pathway to citizenship" that would require undocumented workers to go to the back of the line, wait their turn, pay a fine and taxes and pass a background check.

"In so doing, we would ensure that the United States remains a country of immigrants but also a country of laws," he said.

"SEPARATE ISSUE'

Stefanik said the southern border needs to be secured but the overall immigration issues should be dealt with separately.

"I believe that we first need to secure the border," she said.

"We need to promote a legal immigration system that makes sense. I do not support amnesty, but I also think we need to deal with specific challenges."

Stefanik said one of those considerations is to not harm farmers who rely on migrant workers.

"We need to approach that on a bipartisan basis and have it in a separate bill that is actually an agriculture bill because it really is an economic agriculture issue in this district," she said.

"END WAR ON DRUGS'

Funiciello said he does not have an issue with immigrants coming to America to make a life but feels they should be treated the same as American workers.

"One of the problems we have right now is the war on terror and the war on drugs are not really wars. That is part of the militarization of the borders.

"We need to end the war on terror and the war on drugs, and that would, perhaps, allow us to have far less illegal or black-market trafficking through the border," he said.

"Should the borders be secure? Yes, I believe they should be as long as we have citizenship and a different standard of living and a different set of laws and rules. I do believe it makes sense to have borders and to ask people for identification when they come to visit back or forth."

Funiciello said immigration policies need to not only allow migrant workers to come to the United States and stay here but give them decent wages and health care.

"I think amnesty is less important than a clear path to citizenship for those who want it and a true guest-worker program that actually identifies people coming in and out of the country and allows them permission to work not for just six months but for two or three years at a time," Funiciello said.

"Who wants a six-month job?"

TRADE BALANCE

Woolf said keeping trade with Canada open and strong is critical for the district and the nation.

"It's essential that we strike a balance between securing our northern border and building strong trade relations with Canada," he said.

"We need to enhance our border-crossing infrastructure to accommodate pre-inspections on both sides of the frontier. We need to cut down on wait times and balance cross-border traffic over the multiple crossings in the district.

"And we need to make sure that our officials allow, without over-impediment, tourism and recreational use of the St. Lawrence River and Upper Lake Ontario.

"Since I am the only candidate who is proposing means for raising general revenue, I am the only candidate who can pay for this."

"A BALANCE'

Stefanik said she wants to continue the work of outgoing incumbent Bill Owens (D-Plattsburgh), who is a member of the bipartisan Northern Border Caucus, in promoting and enhancing trade with Canada yet maintaining safety.

She said her family's plywood business has a lot of experience in trading with Canada, so she knows how important it is.

"It's a balance. Particularly here in Clinton County, where so many Canadian businesses are incredibly important in terms of providing jobs here.

"You have to approach it with a balanced approach to maintain the commerce so goods and services can flow, but you also have to make sure it is secure and have a sense of who is coming across the border."

Stefanik also said she believes the U.S.-Canadian border has enough border agents, but infrastructure must be kept up.

"Our bridges and our roadways are so critical to make sure that our goods can flow across the border," she said.

"INVASIVE SYSTEM'

Funiciello said trade across the northern border is obviously very important, as is security, but it can be overbearing at times.

"We have set up all these technologies for people crossing the border. We have expedited licenses, passport cards with ID chips and these things allow allow people to get in and out fairly quickly, but then there is the question of how invasive this is," Funiciello said.

"I'm an American citizen. Do I really need to wait a half hour or two hours in line? Is it OK that the federal government put a chip in my identification card that tells a centralized computer system all kinds of information about me?

"I have to believe that it is not OK. I have to believe that there is something very un-American about it, and it is very disturbing to me and, I think, to most Americans."

Funiciello says he hears complaints all the time about border delays from Canadian travelers who stop in at the cafe he owns in Glens Falls. Better systems that allow Canadian visitors easier access is needed, he said.

"These people are saying that their time at the border was tough and gets tougher all the time," he said.

"I don't see how that is welcoming them. It's not going to make them want to come back."

Source