Immigration
There is an urgent need for improvement in our immigration system. Under the Biden Administration’s lax border policies, we saw an influx of more than 10 million illegal immigrants into our country, many of whom were unvetted. Idahoans and people across our country are rightly concerned with the immigration crisis prompted by the Biden Administration’s border policies that led to an increase in illegal immigration and a dangerous influx of fentanyl and other drugs. Concerns with the situation at the southern border have permeated discussions about changes to immigration law. A solution can be reached if we prioritize the safety and security of Americans first.
Throughout my time in Congress, I have consistently maintained there is a real need for a rational immigration policy built on several important principles. I have weighed past immigration reform legislation against these principles and have voted against immigration reform efforts that do not meet them. I continue to use them as a guide for consideration of current immigration reform proposals:
- First, the United States must commit the resources necessary to have the strongest border enforcement realistically possible. Preservation of the integrity of our borders is essential to immigration policy as well as our national security.
- Second, our immigration system must not grant amnesty to those who enter our country illegally or illegally overstay their visas. No person who breaks the law should obtain any benefit toward either permanent legal residency or citizenship as a result of their illegal conduct. This is unfair both to American citizens and to those who have gone through legal channels for immigration to the U.S.
- Third, non-citizens must not be afforded the same means-tested, federal benefits available to U.S. citizens. Federal public benefit programs exist as a manifestation of the American aspiration to take care of our own less fortunate. In today’s fiscal climate, the solvency of these programs is ill-fated at best, making it nothing less than irresponsible to exacerbate these programs’ financial constraints by extending eligibility to individuals who are not U.S. citizens.
- Fourth, our immigration system must assure that American citizens have the first right to access available jobs.
- Fifth, an efficient and workable guest worker program must be developed and maintained that will provide employers with a reliable, verifiable and legal system to identify qualified guest workers who are legally in the country.
Realizing the significant impact of reforms to federal immigration law, I will continue to press for a solid solution that will secure our nation’s borders, not provide incentives for further illegal immigration through rewarding illegal entry, and implement sound, sensible immigration policy based on the rule of law. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and all Idahoans to find sensible solutions to the challenges we face with regard to immigration and its impact on Idaho’s foreign labor sector.