Issue Position: Immigration Reform

Issue Position

Our country badly needs immigration reform. It is bad social and economic policy to have somewhere around 10 million people living in the shadows. While they are in the shadows, they are subject to economic abuse by not being protected by fair wage laws. As an example of economic abuse, unethical employers can hire them for below minimum wage and bid contracts away from ethical employers who do pay minimum wages. An example of social abuse is that people in the shadows fear to report crime, leaving social problems to fester. A full discussion of the problems caused by our current immigration situation could fill a book. Doing nothing is NOT an option.

The Senate has passed a bipartisan bill that makes a good start on a comprehensive plan. A House bill cosponsored by Rep. Joaquin Castro and Rep. Jeff Denham is an even better starting point (H.R. 15). Somewhere among these good ideas, we must find a solution that moves people out of the shadows and lets them earn citizenship over an extended time, just as most of our own forefathers became citizens.

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