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I can summarize my solution for illegal immigration in one word: "enforcement." Enforce border security. Enforce the laws on the books, and penalize businesses that knowingly hire undocumented workers in order to protect American jobs. This can be accomplished with sophistication and effective electronic surveillance. It must include ALL our borders, including ports, where cargo ships must be subject to routine as well as unannounced inspections, and airports, where more effective screening techniques must be employed. We also must recognize that America indeed is "a nation of immigrants". Of course, we cannot reward illegal behavior. But we must find ways to bring the millions of undocumented workers and families here out of the shadows. We must identify them and require their compliance with our laws. Those who commit crimes should be subject to deportation. Those who wish to stay must pay taxes, pay fines for illegal entry, learn English, and get line for permanent status behind those who are here legally if they wish to stay. Not amnesty: transparency. We also must fix the dysfunctional federal immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of places available for legal immigrants to keep families together and to meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill with our existing labor force. |
