RSS Feed
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Better enforcement key to immigration issue "You're seeing a million more (illegal immigrants) coming every two-and-a-half years, said Artur Davis, U.S. congressman of the Seventh District. "That number is probably an understatement. (The common sense approach is) to at least make sure that we're not increasing the number of illegals who are here." Davis recently joined a bi-partisan coalition of more than 90 members of the House of Representatives calling on tougher border security and higher employment verification standards in the fight against illegal immigration. "I think people realize that we've had 30 to 40 years of lax enforcement," he said. "We haven't had a strong enforcement of our border. We haven't had strong enforcement of the laws (we already have). "I think there is an impatience (from citizens). I think people are frankly not interested in broad, comprehensive changes until we do a better job with the laws we've got. "…The senators found that out this year when they had their debate," Davis said. "…So I decided to support the bill (the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act of 2007) that Congressman (Heath Shuler introduced). At this point, it is a very bi-partisan bill….It is the only bill in the U.S. House of Representatives related to the subject of immigration that has a strong bi-partisan base. "It has some very simple provisions: (1) stronger enforcement of employer laws and (2) strong incentives to help employers verify their workforce. It's not just enough to say to them that you've got to verify that all your people are legal," the congressman said. "You've got to help them with verification procedures - so they actually can look at an I- 9 (Employment Eligibility Verification form) that someone gives them and verify that this is not some made-up number. It is very easy to forge I-9's - very easy to forge, for that matter, social security number and driver's licenses. "…(In addition) we've got to strengthen our border. We've got to stop cutting down on the number of border patrols. This bill will do that (adding 8,000 new Border Patrol agents)." Davis does not agree with the idea of giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The idea tripped up Senator Hillary Clinton in a recent presidential debate, and another presidential candidate, Barack Obama (who Davis supports) is in favor of the idea. Davis said Obama was wrong on this issue. "A driver's license is the equivalent of an ID card in this society. As a practical matter, if you have a driver's license, you have legal status in this country. To say that we are going to give a driver's license to people who are here illegally, you're basically giving them an amnesty at that point." Giving illegals a driver's license will not help "bring them out of the shadows," identify how many are in the country, he said. "People who are here illegally, frankly, have gotten accustomed to getting around." They are not going to show themselves just for the card, he said. Eventually, there will have to be reform of the immigration laws. "They are a mess right now. If you play by the rules and you do what you are supposed to (to get citizenship), you're disadvantaged against somebody who decides to cheat. The system is so cumbersome, so complicated. "We need to have a system that rewards people who work and people who are playing by the rules," the congressman said. "We are not going to make 12 million people disappear overnight. Any politician who suggests we can get rid of 12 million folks - it's not going to happen."
The system must show illegal immigrants the path to gain "not citizenship…but some kind of valid status."
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
