Secure the border with more boots on the ground
I do believe we can secure the border with a combination of boots on the ground, technology, and a fence, but we’ve got three other problems. And to get to it, we’ve got to secure the border.
Secondly, let’s promote the path to citizenship that’s already there. We don’t need a new one, we just need to clean up the bureaucracy that’s slowing the process down and discouraging people.
The third thing we need to do, enforce the laws that are there, and the way we do it, empower the states. I believe that the people closest to the problem are the best ones to be able to solve that problem. Empower the states to do what the federal government hasn’t done, can’t do, and won’t do. This is how we solve the entire problem.
Source: 2011 GOP debate in Simi Valley CA at the Reagan Library , Sep 7, 2011
We have a path to citizenship: it’s called legal immigration
Q: When Pres. Obama joked about protecting the borders with alligators and a moat, not only did you embrace the idea, you upped the ante with “a 20-foot barbed wire electrified fence.” Were you serious?
A: America has got to learn how to take a joke. But allow me to give you my real solution to the immigration problem. I happen to believe that is four problems.
Yes, we must secure the border with whatever means necessary.
Enforce the laws that are there.
Promote the path to citizenship that’s already there. We have a path to citizenship for illegal aliens. It’s called legal immigration.
And then, I happen to agree with empowering the states and allow them to deal with that issue. If we work on the right problem, we will be able to solve it.
And in the case of immigration, we’ve got four problems that we need to work on simultaneously. We can have high fences and wide open doors, all at the same time.
Source: Iowa Straw Poll 2011 GOP debate in Ames Iowa , Aug 11, 2011
Not right to sue Arizona for trying to protect themselves
I want to share with you my three guiding principles so you know what type of leader I will be. Three of my guiding principles that have guided my life; guided the decisions I made when I was running companies; and guided my family.
Guiding principle #1: Do the right thing. It was not right to sue the state of Arizona when they were simply trying to protect themselves. You will always be able to count on Herman Cain to do what is right.
Guiding principle #2: We have got to lead this nation from an entitlement society to an empowerment society, by getting government out of the way. We’ve got to empower states to do what states do best: to solve the people’s problems at the state level. Empowerment, not entitlement
Guiding principle #3: It’s not about us. We have to defend the life of the unborn. We must defend those principles that this nation was founded upon.
Source: 2011 Faith and Freedom Conference , Jun 4, 2011
Secure our borders; enforce our laws
Americans have embraced their role as the world’s premier “melting pot,” welcoming immigrants from every corner of the planet. We readily learn about other cultures, customs and beliefs. We appreciate those who are willing to come to this country and mak America a more vibrant and enriched place.
Americans do resent, however, the willingness of some to circumvent our laws and enter our nation illegally. While many, if not most, illegal immigrants are peaceful people simply seeking to provide for their families, some are not. In fact, some are quite dangerous, jeopardizing the safety and well-being of American citizens.
Illegal immigration also puts a tremendous strain on America’s entitlement and health care systems. In fact, several hospitals in the U.S. have declared bankruptcy as a result of the costs of caring for illegal immigrants.
We must secure our borders, enforce our laws and promote the existing path to citizenship.ÿ
Source: Campaign website, www.hermancain.com/ “Issues” , May 21, 2011
Where’s the fence? Not in the Immigration Bill!
The Comprehensive Immigration Bill debated in the Senate last week was dead on arrival. Most regular folks kept screaming, “Where’s the fence?”
The Immigration Bill was supposed to be good compromise legislation. It is just bad legislation with different agendas glued together, while not emphasizing enough of the public’s number one priority - the fence! Not just wire, wood and concrete, but all the technologies we have available to stop the rampant inflow of illegal aliens into this country.
Source: Political column, THE New Voice, “Immigration Bill” , Jun 11, 2007
I wouldn’t be comfortable with that scenario either.
I want Perry to select someone with experience in foreign policy, maybe, or at least experience in something.
Easy for Cain to say.
He’s never been on the front lines.
Thank you. How does it differ from what Gov. Perry has said about the border and immigration?
Also Texas is spending hundreds of millions of our state budget to patrol the border and put Texas Rangers on the ground.
Perry has been using the “boots on the ground” phrase *and* spending funds from his own office budget, those from our Department of Public Safety, and encouraging legislation to add men and equipment to supplement the federal funding.
Go and read this article: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2788889/posts
Here’s some quotes from “Fed Up!”
“We have already been burned once by false promises of border security in exchange for tying security to other aspects of the immigration debate. President Regan, in 1986, signed the immigration reform and control act, which legalized close to 3 million undocumented immigrants. The law was supposed to be a comprehensive solution with provisions intended to clamp down on border security. These provisions were never enforced, and the subsequent explosion in illegal crossings has resulted in some 11 million illegal aliens living in the United States today an estimated 1.8 million illegal immigrants are currently residing in Texas, compared with 1.1 million in 2000. In ten years, that represents an increase of 54 percent or 70,000 persons each year coming to our state illegally. Today, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates than about one in ten people born in Mexico live in the United States. And all of this has occurred outside the system and to the disadvantage of others who have been waiting in line for many years. There are literally millions of people waiting to get into the country legally.” P.118-119
“But I strongly support the right of the citizens of Arizona, Texas, or any other state to pass laws to protect themselves. In fact, we joined in federal court with eight other states to help defend Arizona against the Obama administration’s lawsuit.”
Perry, Rick; Newt Gingrich (2010-11-15). Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington (p. 161). Little, Brown and Company. Kindle Edition.
Now, the current administration willfully refuses to enforce the laws on the books. While President Bush didn’t fo as much as I had hoped, his administration did step up workplace enforcement, reducing the enticement for illegal immigration. President Obama on the other hand, has reversed course. He also has intentionally undermined one of the few successful measures the federal government has implemented. Section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the deputization” of local law enforcement after training from federal authorities so that they may process illegal immigrants detained in the course of law enforcement activities for removal. This program simply allows local officials to aid Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the application of our laws.
“Bowing to pressure from interest groups in favor of unchecked illegal immigration , the Obama administration has instead issued new requirements intended to curtail the program by making it more expensive, among other things. So the Federal government is now manipulating successful programs to stop willing local jurisdictions from doing the federal government’s job themselves.”
(Referring to the explanation about 287 (g) at http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/03/time-to-stop-the-rush-for-amnesty-immigration-reform