Tom Tancredo's Top Immigration Questions

1) How did you become involved in the issue of immigration reform to begin with?

Before coming to Congress, I headed a Colorado think tank called the Independence Institute. I commissioned a report entitled Compassion or Compulsion, which, documented that providing welfare, education, and Medicaid benefits to immigrants, combined with the cost of the incarceration of non-citizens in our prison system, cost Colorado taxpayers about $115 million each year! Beyond that, growth is a major concern for all Coloradans and growth is a direct effect of immigration. The population of California is expected to be 64 million by 2040. The net effect of this rapid population growth has been congested traffic, overcrowded schools, and increased crime associated with drugs. This population increase is also causing a strain on Colorado's environment. We are struggling to protect the open space that makes our state unique. Water is in short supply throughout the West and population increases exacerbate that strain on our resources.

There is no doubt that the current level of about 1.2 million per year is much too high. I have proposed reducing that level to 300,000 for five years to give the country (and the INS) time to catch up. Approximately 300,000 people leave the country each year, so my plan would result in zero net legal immigration for five years.

3) What about the jobs that are currently filled by illegal immigrants - won't our economy collapse?

There is no question that, under the current system, many businesses have come to depend on the labor of illegal immigrants. For this reason, I support a guestworker program which would allow businesses to temporarily hire immigrants for jobs that they can't find Americans to fill. My program will be a TRUE guestworker program, however - not one that results in amnesty, "earned legalization" or any other euphemism. The workers will need to understand that they are just guests in the country, and the program is not a way for them to put down roots and stay indefinitely.

4) Shouldn't we just wipe the slate clean, pass an amnesty for illegal immigrants and start with a new immigration policy?

The problem with amnesty is that it creates an enormous incentive for additional illegal immigration. We tried a mass amnesty in 1986, and it simply did not work - there are more illegal immigrants in America now than there were in 1986! The message that amnesties send to the world is clear: "come to the U.S. any way you can, and keep your head down until the government gives up." In addition, amnesties are a slap in the face to the millions of immigrants who came to the U.S. legally over the years. To reward people who broke our laws and came to the country illegally is to insult the people who respected our laws and waited patiently in line until they were admitted.

5) America is a land of immigrants - doesn't your position fly in the face of our country's tradition of welcoming immigrants?

Almost everyone would agree that most of America's newcomers are working hard to make better lives for themselves and their children. We should embrace them in our communities, our schools, and our workplaces. But our welcome for immigrants already here should not blind us to the need to examine the level and makeup of future immigration. The total number of immigrants has almost tripled since 1970, to 27 million, accounting for 10 percent of our nation's population. America is simply no longer able to admit over a million immigrants a year. In addition, the best way to ensure that the immigrants we admit are able to live the American dream is to admit only as many as our economy, infrastructure and school systems can handle.

6) Aren't you being a little bit paranoid about terrorists coming across the border? All of the 9/11 hijackers entered the U.S. legally, through ports of entry.

Our borders are only as strong as their weakest link. One lesson that we should have learned last fall is that terrorists have become very good at finding the weak links. Since 9/11, the focus of the government has been almost entirely on tightening up our ports of entry. It only makes since that this will push terrorists to the next weakest link - the thousands of miles of land border with Canada and Mexico. Especially along the northern border, much of the land is very remote and only sparsely guarded. Because of our wide-open borders, getting into Canada or Mexico is, for a terrorist, just as good as getting into the U.S.

The INS was dismantled but its parts were reassembled in the new Department of Homeland Security. Unfortunately, its culture of lax immigration law enforcement still survives in the new agency. Our immigration agency still lacks a clear mission and consistent leadership that stresses and rewards effective enforcement of our laws and protection of our borders. The interior enforcement of our laws beyond the border is a toothless lion with no mandate, paltry resources and imploding morale. The Border Patrol needs a doubling of its manpower to 20,000 agents, and its officers should be allowed to do city patrols to locate and arrest illegal aliens within our major cities. The Detention and Removal division needs to greatly increase its capacity to detain and deport apprehended aliens instead of releasing them on a promise to appear at a hearing, and over 100,000 illegal aliens who are annually convicted of felonies should be deported and not allowed to cycle back into our communities.

8) Will the Bush Administration's plan to create a Department of Homeland Security help to secure our borders?

The old INS had two conflicting missions. Part of the INS was responsible for keeping illegal immigrants out of the country, and part was responsible for getting them services and benefits once they are in the country. This fundamental contradiction pulled the agency in two directions, with each side competing for funds. I believe that President Bush was correct in creating a new agency, the Department of Homeland Security. By unifying the various agencies with a similar mission, we have the unity of command and mission that can lead to more effective law enforcement. Our ports of entry, including our airports and seaports, now have a single agency looking at incoming cargo and arriving immigrants and tourists. Thus, while progress has been made, many problems remain. The agency has insufficient manpower to do the job as thoroughly as national security requires. Border Patrol agents are still hampered by inferior technology, archaic policies such as catch and release, and ineffectual leadership still excuses lax enforcement of our laws.

9) Why hasn't Congress taken any definitive action on immigration reform since 9/11?

A vast majority of Americans believe that immigration levels are too high and our borders are not secure. Unfortunately, there are powerful forces at work to prevent immigration reform from happening. Democrats see immigrants (legal and otherwise) as future democratic voters. Many Republicans take a Libertarian view and believe that labor (people) should be allowed to flow across the border as freely are capital. Businesses benefit from a large pool of workers willing to work for less than Americans. Put together, these normally competing groups are consistently able to stop immigration reform.

According to a recent Zogby poll, 68% of Americans don't think so. The fact is, there are not enough Border Patrol agents to do the job right now. Many leave the INS out of frustration, and others are in the process of becoming air marshals. Until we are able to hire and train enough agents to do the job, the president should use the authority he already has to deploy the military to provide support services such as surveillance, transportation, equipment and air patrols. In fact, under current law, members of our military could assist the Border Patrol in doing everything but performing searches, seizures, and arrests. There are about 40,000 American troops guarding the borders of other nations right now. Too much focus has been placed on tightening up our ports on entry up until now - it is time to use troops to guard the vast stretches of land between those ports of entry.

I made a statement to the press that if the Congress and the President do not do more than we have done thus far to secure our borders, and some future terrorist act is traceable to our open borders, we will all have blood on our hands. Who else are the citizens to blame? I believe our fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere in the world is absolutely necessary. Where I part company with Karl Rove is that I also believe border security is an essential part of the war on terror.

12) Don't you think that your statements are hurting the Republican Party's attempts to attract Hispanic voters, and possibly endangering President Bush's re-election chances?

Quite the contrary. Hispanic voters will not be won over to the Republican Party by trying to out-pander the Democrats. They can be brought into the Republican Party by stressing the same issues all voters care about the economy, lower taxes, educational opportunities through vouchers, and the war on terror. Hispanic citizens are among the real victims of open borders and cheap labor. If Republicans compromise their principles on certain issues - welfare, immigration, education - in order to win votes, then they have forgotten the very reasons they were elected in the first place and have ceased to represent the principles the party was founded on.

If Republicans compromise their principles on certain issues - welfare, immigration, education - in order to win votes, then they have forgotten the very reasons they were elected in the first place and have ceased to represent the principles the party was founded on.

Bravo TANCREDO!!!!!!

In fact, under current law, members of our military could assist the Border Patrol in doing everything but performing searches, seizures, and arrests.

Actually, he's only partially right here. Active duty forces are under such restrictions due to posse comitatus, but the National Guard has no such restriction, and is in fact tasked with defending the borders of the US.

Get the Guard out of Iraq and on the borders.

9) Why hasn't Congress taken any definitive action on immigration reform since 9/11?

A vast majority of Americans believe that immigration levels are too high and our borders are not secure. Unfortunately, there are powerful forces at work to prevent immigration reform from happening. Democrats see immigrants (legal and otherwise) as future democratic voters. Many Republicans take a Libertarian view and believe that labor (people) should be allowed to flow across the border as freely are capital. Businesses benefit from a large pool of workers willing to work for less than Americans. Put together, these normally competing groups are consistently able to stop immigration reform.

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Seems like it's time for the American Citizen and Taxpayer to make them do the right thing and Control our Borders and Enforce the Immigration Laws. Time to Beat down the Doors of the Congress!! and make sure they hear us LOUD and Clear!!

Water is in short supply throughout the West and population increases exacerbate that strain on our resources.

Too true --- and some recent riots and the building anger of many of the slums of Mexico City --- where the government must ration the water they get should be a big warning sign. We're bringing in millions of indigent people who have no ability to do anything for themselves, they'll buy a lot in the desert with no water and then riot or demand the government take care of them.

won't our economy collapse?

It's absurd to think our economy would collapse if the lazy housewives had to wash their own dishes, or lazy homeowners had to mow their own lawn -- or even if their lawns didn't get mowed at all. The savings in the Texas and California state budgets would be enormous if controls were placed on immigration.

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