Secure the Border: Right people, tools, and technology to protect our homeland

The current state of immigration puts America in a vulnerable position and our security must remain our top priority. Respect for the law is critical to maintaining a safe and free society. All Americans have the right to insist that persons entering our country do so in a legal and orderly manner. I have consistently been in favor of immigration reform that secures ours borders, punishes criminals, and encourages immigrants to enter the United States legally.

In the 110th Congress, I authored legislation to rid the border of ìtactical coverî plants that illegal immigrants use to elude our Border Patrol Agents. The removal of these plants will make it harder for illegal immigrants to sneak into our country undetected and safer for the Border Agents who must patrol the wilderness looking for them.

Reform the Immigration Structure: Make it infeasible for employers to hire illegal aliens

We cannot allow immigration or border policy to encourage unlawful immigration. While the majority of people seeking to enter our country may not be direct threats to national security, we simply cannot be certain without vigilant regulation. We must make it our goal to interdict every person trying to cross our border illegally.

We are a nation of laws, and we should not set a precedent by rewarding people for entering the country illegally. We need to send a clear message to every foreign citizen considering entering this country illegally: there will be no job for you. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released tools to help employers verify the immigration status of their employees. Universally implementing this program will remove an important motive for illegal immigrants.

However, it is imperative that we consider the consequences of an overly restrictive immigration proposal. Proposals that seek to severely constrict legal immigration or summarily purge 12 million people from our economy fail to consider the substantial consequences of such actions. I believe that the U.S. would suffer tremendously, both economically and socially from such a policy.

The immigration policy passed by Congress in the 1920ís would be considered xenophobic now and have contributed to a legacy of racism and intolerance that persists. Those laws kept untold numbers of talented individuals who were eager to utilize their talents and seek freedom in America could not because of the color of their skin.

Create a rational, non-amnesty temporary worker program:

In addition to securing the border and arresting every person trying to sneak into our country, we must implement a policy to allow immigrants to enter this country in a legal, orderly way. The United States currently authorizes fewer than 150,000 work visas each year, nowhere near meeting the demand. I am a strong supporter of a program that documents and processes temporary workers quickly and easily to assist our seasonal industries.

A citizenship-neutral temporary worker program would give the United States the economic benefits of having a sure supply of legal workers without being anchored by costly entitlements. Participants in a temporary worker program should make certain concessions to participate, including waiving birthright citizenship for any child born in the U.S. and being ineligible for Social Security. The money that would otherwise be collected for Social Security should be used to pay for the healthcare costs and education of the individuals and their dependents in the program.

Remaining competitive in the global economy will require attracting some of the most talented and skilled foreign workers from around the globe to complement our domestic labor force. Through the use of student visas, thousands of foreign-born students are being educated in American universities every day. These students are some of the best and brightest individuals in the world, but in order for them to remain in America, we require them to compete for a scarce number of H1-B visas upon completion of their training. America makes an investment in these students and it is seemingly unwise to lose our investment to other countries. In effect, we are training a highly talented workforce that competes against us in the global marketplace.

In a responsible effort to address this problem, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) have introduced the Securing Knowledge, Innovation and Leadership Act, H.R. 5744. This legislation would allow foreign nationals with student visas to stay in America after they graduate and join the workforce. The SKIL bill works to keep one of our most valuable resources in country: an educated labor force.