Immigration Policy

Assertion: As long as America remains the “Land of Opportunity” it will be attractive to people from all over the world. However, America can not sustain an influx of illegal immigrants living off the grid, paying no taxes and collecting benefits from Federal and State governments. It isn’t fair to hard-working tax-paying Americans and it isn’t fair to the hundreds of thousands who are going through the proper bureaucratic channels to attain American citizenship. This has nothing whatsoever to do with racism or xenophobia; our borders need to be secured, our immigration laws and processes need to be enforced, and non-citizens here illegally must be deported (without malice; essentially sent to the back of the line).

Why This Is Important: Basic mathematics tells us that we can not continue to support illegal immigrants. The financial drain it puts on our cities and states ultimately results in a higher tax burden on American citizens, taxes which in turn are used to pay for fewer basic services. The immigration demographic also plays a key role in America’s future, as a growing population comprised of hard-working tax-paying citizens, including lawful immigrants fully committed to the American ideal, is vital to our continued prosperity.

Constitutional Basis: Article I, Section 8 provides Congress with the power to establish uniform rules for Naturalization. The 14th Amendment provides the framework for what defines a citizen, chiefly that a person must be born in the U.S. or become a naturalized citizen. The Immigration and Naturalization Act sets forth the particular legal requirements for citizenships.

Quote: “Happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” – George Washington