WASHINGTON   –  “In terms of the issues burning up the political airwaves this winter, the economy is gaining steam.  Immigration, however, is slipping off the radar screen.

The reasons for this are two-fold.  First, the remaining presidential candidates don’t talk about immigration policy too much.  Secondly, Congress hasn’t been addressing this important issue with the intensity it should.

This is a concerning trend, because unfinished work remains along our borders.  Securing them is not just a national security issue, it’s an economic one as well.  These two issues should not be disconnected in the public debate over how to keep our nation safe and strong.

It would be naive to say that every illegal immigrant comes to America to help strengthen our economy.  Many come for work, true, and they are often enabled by employers who pay cash and look the other way on documentation.  In order to curb this incentive for would-be illegal aliens, we have to enforce verification laws that punish employers for using illegal labor.  We must also reinforce legal immigration programs for people in other countries who want to come to the U.S. to work, and do it legally.  This is a key reform relevant to the agriculture sector.

We also have to address the segment of the illegal population that comes to America seeking opportunities in the criminal world.  Our local and state authorities should be empowered to use technologies to coordinate arrests with federal immigration authorities.  There is no reason for an illegal immigrant who commits crimes in the U.S. to be allowed to stay here after crossing paths with our law enforcement community.

In the meantime, we have to finish border protections like physical and virtual fences, and Congress must provide the funding and support to help the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel do their jobs.
 
In the dispersal of government programs, like Social Security, Medicaid, and the recent tax rebate checks, Congress is taking precautions to ensure that American citizens are the beneficiaries of the programs meant for them.  By requiring the use of a valid Social Security number which is checked against records at those government agencies, illegal immigrants run up against a deterrent roadblock.  As Congress works to strengthen identification standards for legal immigrants, we must also incorporate anti-counterfeiting technologies that prevent illegal immigrants from forging legal documents and stealing the identities of U.S. citizens.

Most recently, I signed on to legislation called the English in the Workplace Act.  This bill would allow employers who deemed it necessary to require their workers be able to speak English at work.  Fluency in our national language is extremely important to the prosperity of our increasingly service-oriented national economy.

These sound like simple truths that should be reflected in our laws.  Shockingly, this is not always the case.  In Congress, I will continue to keep the focus on immigration reform, working for solutions that keep our country safe and help our economy get healthy.”