Congressman Jeb Hensarling (Texas-5) was in town Tuesday to discuss what he calls the "number one issue on the minds of the people of this district" – illegal immigration.

Hensarling spoke before a packed house 9:30 a.m. at the Norman Activity Center. Hensarling said the high attendance numbers, roughly 40 people, demonstrate the importance of this volatile issue to East Texans.

The meeting began with Hensarling outlining the Senate Kennedy-Kyl bill and explaining his concerns with it.

"The U. S. Senate has started to move a piece of legislation that I think is very, very problematic. So I’m spending the next three days going around the Fifth Congressional district of Texas, telling people about my understanding of that piece of legislature, and letting it be known that I heartily disapprove of that bill as I understand it," Hensarling said.

"I have come to the conclusion that, in essence, this bill is an amnesty bill. I am unalterable opposed to amnesty, period. Ultimately this bill would allow people who are here illegally to stay here indefinitely without having to return to their country of origin."

The bill would also institute the Z-Visa, which would allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country without being forced to pay back-taxes for the time they have lived in America.

"I believe a properly-structured guest worker program is part of the border security solution. I empathize with a lot of the people who come here illegally. I’m ready to provide people with a legal channel, as long as they are economic assets to America, they are willing to go home first and the citizenship line is a different line than the guest worker line," he said.

The Kennedy-Kyl bill would also give illegals a head-start in the citizenship process.

"There are people in America that have waited five, 10 even 15 years to come here legally. To allow illegal immigrants to cut in front of them is an absolute slap in the face," Hensarling said. "American citizenship should be a great privilege and it should not depend on the vagaries of geography. It ought to be open to everybody in the world who is willing to learn about our history, learn about our culture, learn the English language, everyone who loves freedom and wants to roll up their sleeves and work hard."

According to Hensarling, America’s illegal immigration problem presents a threat to both our national security and our economic security. He cited the fact that Mexican law enforcement officers recently detained Iraqis attempting to penetrate their border. Hensarling said it was just a matter of time before those Iraqis made their way into America.

"Increasingly, we have a United Nations approach to illegal immigration. People from all around the world, including countries where Al Qaeda is known to recruit and train, are increasingly trying to infiltrate our borders – particularly our southern border," Hensarling said. "I believe we ignore our porous borders at our own peril."

Hensarling said illegal aliens who attend American schools, receive free health care and clog up the country’s justice system place a huge economic burden on the tax-paying American.

To Hensarling, the first and most important step in fixing America’s immigration problem is securing the nation’s borders.

"I don’t necessarily feel the need to pass a "comprehensive" immigration bill. To me, the first thing you do is you stop the bleeding. I don’t have the answer to every aspect of the illegal immigration problem, but I don’t feel like I have to solve that problem today in order to enforce our borders — particularly when we know Al Qaeda and other people who mean to work woe in America are still trying to cross our borders," Hensarling said.

Hensarling appreciates the importance immigrants have had in the formation of America, but he believes that the law most be followed and that illegal behavior must not be rewarded.

"This isn’t a debate about taking the Statue of Liberty down, but immigrants need to be legal immigrants. Immigration should not be about sneaking into the back door of America, in the dark of night, without seeking permission to get here," he said. "I’m not trying to close our borders, I’m just trying to control them."

Until the problem is rectified, more than 1,000 illegal immigrants cross America’s borders each night.