Position: Border Security

I support a physical barrier fence and the deployment of an array of virtual and real barriers to protect our Southern border. I support immediately ending all benefits from crossing our borders illegally.

An open border is a national security nightmare. I can’t bring more than 2oz. of liquid on an airplane, but, anybody and everybody can cross the border with who knows what, at will? How does this make sense? It defies logic that our border remains porous, 8 yrs after 9/11. National security is job one for a federal government. It’s time for our federal government to DO ITS JOB.

Closing our borders will uphold our immigration laws. We are a nation of laws. Americans have a powerful sense of fair play and justly so. Illegal immigration is unfair to those that play by the rules. It undermines legal immigration to allow our immigration laws to be flaunted. Closing our borders is a matter of fairness.

Closing our border is necessary because of the instability our open border is causing, in Mexico. There is a serious and brewing drug war in Mexico, threatening to overturn and overrun even basic governance along our border. We must close our border to narco-trafficking as an essential measure to ebb that conflict. Indeed, that conflict is routinely and unacceptably spilling over the border. Closing our borders would protect our citizens AND our neighbors to the South.

In addition, we must stand up for our own border law enforcement officers and not sell them out based on the testimony of illegal narco-traffickers.

We are, in effect, inviting illegal aliens to come to America. We say no, and then provide a rich array of benefits that undermine that no. If we want to end illegal immigration, we must end the benefits for breaking our laws. Breaking the law should have consequences, not rewards. If you provide incentive for a behavior, you will get more of it. That’s just common sense. Try this at home: tell your children that every time they disobey you, you’ll give them ten dollars. No? Exactly.

Currently, if an illegal alien steals your social security number or ID in order to work here illegally, the government all but protects – not you – but the illegal alien for doing so. That must change. When the government becomes aware of multiple social security users, it must be made to investigate and protect the interest of its citizens and true users of that ID.

I support the outright and consistent denial of government benefits and protections to illegal aliens. No reward for illegal behavior means just that.

I support the Birthright Citizenship Act that would clarify the 14th Amendment and restrict the granting of citizenship based solely on crossing our border for the purpose of delivery. The Constitution has a 2-fold test for citizenship yet, the government routinely grants citizenship based only on birth location. Amazingly neither the Congress nor the Supreme Court has ever weighed-in directly on this issue. It’s past time to do so.

I support cutting all federal aid for any city or jurisdiction engaging in the concept of being a ‘sanctuary city’ for border violators.

I support stiff penalties for hiring illegal workers, including jail time for repeat offenders.

Once the border is sealed tight and incentives for illegal entry are removed, I would favor looking at ways to increase LEGAL immigration, as needed. I do not favor amnesty in any way. I believe that we, as a nation of immigrants, should have a generally “open arms” policy towards immigration, so long as it is done lawfully and purposefully. I am a strong supporter immigration – LEGAL immigration.