Issue Position: Immigration

Issue Position

I see immigration as a two-tiered issue, both of which the federal government has failed to solve. Dealing with illegal immigration should begin at the borders - which are too porous - and should extend to the workplace with a sophisticated E-Verify program. By plugging the borders and removing jobs available to illegals from the workforce, illegals will eventually realize moving to the United States is too difficult and does not pay off once they are here.

The second tier is legal immigration. I believe we make it too difficult for hard-working entrepreneurs to come to - and invest in - this country. We are a nation of immigrants. We should be encouraging legal immigrants who are willing to risk their capital - and their sweat equity - to come to America. We educate too many people and then send them and their skills back to their native country. By streamlining the legal immigration process, increasing the number of H-1B visas, and by hiring more adjudication officers, I believe we can add significantly to this nation's productivity. For those who argue that this would displace American workers, I respond that the labor market is not a zero sum game. I anticipate fully that jobs will be created both for long-time Americans and newly-emigrated Americans. "Fortress America" is naive, xenophobic, and counter-productive to economic resurgence.

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