There was a lot of noise last week in the media and by my opponent regarding my efforts to help local law enforcement protect our streets and neighborhoods from crimes by illegal aliens in North Carolina. I’ll talk more about this in a moment, but first I want to address the larger issue of illegal immigration.
North Carolina has had one of the fastest-growing populations of illegal aliens in America. They’ve come here for two primary reasons. First, North Carolina has historically had a growing economy, so there were jobs. Second, the liberal politicians in Raleigh were very slow to address our lax laws regarding identification, so it was very easy to get a driver’s license in North Carolina and having identification – even if received through forgery or falsification – is very important to an illegal alien.
According to 2006 estimates from the non-partisan Federation for American Immigration Reform, about 400,000 illegal aliens live in North Carolina. FAIR estimates that the cost to North Carolina taxpayers for emergency health care, education and incarceration was $997 million in 2006 alone!
Granting amnesty to illegal aliens will provide them access to many more federal and state programs – greatly increasing their cost to taxpayers. Granting amnesty without securing our borders is an invitation for millions more to come to America – illegally. This is what happened in 1986 when we had an estimated 3 million illegal aliens, and now we have an estimated 12 to 20 million. I have never hesitated nor beat around the bush regarding my position on illegal immigration. My position has been clear and unwavering:
* I have promoted and helped pass stronger border security measures. We must stop the massive influx of people coming into America illegally. We must gain control of our borders. No comprehensive immigration program has any chance of success if our borders are like Swiss cheese.
* I have opposed giving illegal aliens additional government benefits – including precious Social Security and Medicare benefits from a system that is already under financial stress.
* I have supported making English the official language of the United States.
* I support overturning Bill Clinton’s executive order, which requires government run agencies to have materials printed in various languages. If you are here legally and want to become a citizen, you must learn English.
* I have supported increased security measures at our nation’s ports and airports.
* I have passed a law that restricts visas to countries that will not take back their citizens who have been removed from the U.S. by court order.
* I have supported efforts for a properly functioning and verifiable temporary worker program.
* I have opposed amnesty for illegal aliens. I will continue to do so. I opposed and helped defeat three different attempts to provide amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. I opposed President Bush and some members of my own party in doing so.
Last summer, Washington tried to fool us again with promises to secure our borders and enforce our laws IF we legalized the millions of illegal aliens who are in America today. Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This experiment was attempted in 1986, and as I mentioned, the illegal alien population has at least quadrupled since then.
Once the comprehensive bill was defeated, I was troubled that the immigration issue was quickly swept off Washington’s priority list. So at every possible opportunity, I have worked to provide additional funding and resources for border security and internal law enforcement. I have even heard from colleagues who supported the comprehensive bill that in hindsight their judgment was wrong and now they are working intently on enforcement measures.
Most importantly, I traveled throughout North Carolina to talk with local law enforcement officials about the challenges and pressing issues that they faced. I took their concerns directly back to federal officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and asked them to put North Carolina in a unique position for a pilot program to address criminal illegal aliens.
The result has been a partnership over the last year where ICE and the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association have worked hand in hand to form a statewide plan to identify, apprehend and deport criminal aliens.
More here
