Issue Position: Illegal Immigration

Issue Position

Illegal immigration is costing our local governments, schools, and hospitals millions of dollars and must be addressed aggressively by our federal government. This is a problem that is hurting our communities, affecting our public health, and shows that we have a continuing problem providing for our own security. In Montgomery I co-sponsored the toughest illegal immigration bill this session. In Congress, I will fight to see that our federal government responds to this crisis and works to close our borders to illegal aliens, drug trafficking, and possible terrorists.

State Response

In the State Senate I co-sponsored SB 426 as introduced by Senator Beason to address illegal immigration in Alabama. The goal of this legislation is to make Alabama a less attractive place for illegal immigrants to live, protect taxpayers who should not foot the bill for services for those here illegally, and preserve Alabama jobs for our citizens. It is my hope that this legislation can be used as a starting point to address this growing problem.

Federal Response

While we can do our part in Montgomery to make Alabama less attractive to illegal immigrants, it is a fundamental responsibility of our federal government to secure our borders. As an American taxpayer, I cannot believe that it has failed to do so - even in the face of the continued threat to our national and economic security. In Congress, I will work to close our borders by increasing border patrols, building new fences, and developing technology to further assist us in closing the borders. I believe we have the tools to do this today, but, unfortunately, there are those in Washington who lack the political will to get the job done.

Enforce our Laws

We must work at the federal, state, and local levels to enforce the immigration laws currently on our books. If our local law enforcement needs additional resources, then we need to supply those resources because local law enforcement will continue to be on the front lines of this fight. We also need to streamline our laws to allow for early deportation of those here illegally.

No Reward for Violators

Any sort of amnesty is not fair to those who are here legally or those waiting on lists to come to this country. I would not support any type of amnesty program that puts those here illegally ahead of those playing by the rules.

Source