Issue Position: Immigration

Issue Position

Illegal immigration is a problem for taxpayers, working men and women, and most importantly, our nation's security. The federal government needs to step up to curtail these negative affects, and I support:

Securing the border. As many 500,000 people illegally cross the U.S.-Mexican border each year. It is time to prioritize resources for border security patrols as well as establishing sound barriers to entry, such as a border fence and other monitoring tools. We desperately need to enforce current law with strong border security.

No taxpayer funds to benefit illegal citizens. In the Wisconsin Senate, I supported limiting public assistance programs to U.S. citizens and visitors by requiring proper documentation or satisfactory immigration status. We should eliminate incentives for illegal immigrants to come to our country by denying such benefits.

Employers need a system to easily verify citizenship status, not a heavy hand from the federal government that creates more red-tape for businesses. The federal E-Verify program is a positive example where employers can easily check the status of new hires online. In the Wisconsin Legislature, I co-authored legislation (2009 SB 610) that encourages the use of this program by employers by restricting any government contracts or procurements for only companies that utilize this program.

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