Simpson: A Immigration Gut Check
Simpson: A Immigration Gut Check
The United States Congress is set to take up negotiations on a final immigration reform and border security measure. The differences between the two competing versions couldn't be more striking.
The bill that has emerged from the Senate makes significant progress on border security but contains provisions that I believe reward illegal entry and send a terrible message to anyone attempting to come to America through legal means. The House bill is focused on securing our borders, rejecting amnesty, and prosecuting those who chronically and knowingly facilitate the continued flow of illegal aliens into our nation.
No issue has generated as much mail to my office as border security and immigration reform. By an overwhelming margin, those letters have asked me to stand firm in support of the House approach.
I have and will continue to work against granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, regardless of the label. I support measures, like H.R. 4437, that would dramatically strengthen our nation's borders and stem the tide of illegal entry. I intend to continue working toward those objectives and here's why:
· My Oath of Office - It compels me to protect our country, and its Constitution, against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and uphold our nation's laws. While many illegal aliens come to America looking for a better opportunity, so too are some coming here to join gangs, deal drugs, commit violent crimes, and ply the horrible trade of terrorism. I can't fulfill my Congressional responsibilities unless I vote to secure the border, end illegal entry, and make an honest attempt to enforce our laws.
· Terrorism - Consider the case of Farida Goolam Mohamed Ahmed, a suspected terrorist arrested since 9/11 in Texas. She falsified her passport, made misleading statements, and entered our nation through our porous borders. How many more terrorists have penetrated our nation using similar means?
· The Principal of Fairness - There are millions of foreigners patiently waiting in line for the legal opportunity to improve their lives in America. Some of these folks have waited 17 years for their chance to come here - as generations of Americans have before them - through legal means. Granting citizenship to illegal aliens is a slap in the face to those who are waiting to come here legally.
· Economics - While some argue illegal aliens help push down the costs of goods and services, I believe other considerations have a more negative impact on our economy. The availability of illegal labor not only depresses wages, it pushes more people into the ranks of the uninsured. As if that weren't bad enough, illegal aliens typically pay little to nothing for their health care. Instead, you pick up the tab through higher taxes, increased premiums, and curtailed services. Beyond that, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that while the Senate-passed bill will bring in new revenues to the federal government, the bill's allowance of 8 million new immigrants over the next ten years will result in $54 billion in new mandatory expenses.
There is simply no excuse, no economic argument, nor any humanitarian crisis so compelling as to justify our current tolerance of illegal immigration or to permit another ill-conceived amnesty proposal to move forward.
It is often said that we are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. My firm stance against illegal immigration does not mean that I'm against legal immigration. Rather, I believe the tolerance of illegal immigration and proposal of amnesty to those who came here illegally, make legal immigration more difficult for those who are trying to abide by our laws.
That is why I am committed to vote against any final immigration legislation that rewards illegal entry, fails to build a secure fence along our southern border, or places illegal aliens at the front of the immigration line while pushing those who have waited patiently for years to pursue the American dream further back.
http://www.house.gov/list/press/id02_simpson/oped_immigration.html