The debate about immigration reform isn’t about if we should allow immigration, it’s about how we do so in a way that protects American sovereignty, respects the rule of law, and is beneficial to all Americans.  We must respect the governed; that is the will of the people. 

Individuals who are not citizens do not have a right to American citizenship without the consent of the American people.  That consent is expressed through the laws of the United States.

Through those laws, we the people invite individuals from other countries, under certain conditions, to join us as residents and fellow citizens.  We are a county of laws.  If we, the governed – American citizens, don’t like those laws, there’s a process to change the laws.  If non-citizens don’t like our laws, they are free to leave our country.  Non-citizens don’t actually get to have a say in the determination of our laws.

We don’t just disregard the laws we don’t like in this country…at least we don’t just disregard the law without potentially suffering the consequences.

I have friends who have come to this country obeying the rules and I have friends who through no fault of their own have found themselves living here illegally.  I have friends who attended school here or spent the allowed months here but then have returned to their countries despite their great desire to stay and live their lives here in the USA.  I worked for a company that hired an expert from another country and then spent three years and quite a bundle in legal fees to obtain the required green card.

Our immigration system is broken.

It’s not “fair” to potential immigrants or US citizens to perpetuate a broken system because our lawmakers lack the fortitude, or the desire due to their own political agendas, to fix a failed immigration process.

Because of my family’s lineage back to before the formation of our country, I’ve been blessed to be part of a Naturalization Ceremony and it was an amazingly pride inducing emotional event. 

We spent over an hour posing for pictures with our newest citizens, from over 20 countries.  It’s not a theoretical discussion for me but real issues faced by literal friends impacting their real lives.

Sanctuary cities aggressively flaunt the defiance of our laws and create unsafe environments for all of their inhabitants, citizens and non-citizens alike.  I will work to introduce penalties for states and cities that fail to respect our judicial system.

As a nation, in 1986 under President Reagan we granted immigration amnesty to 3 million with the assurance that the system would be fixed and the situation would not be recurring, yet, here we are again just 34 years later with an estimated 10-12 million people living in our country illegally. 

A country isn’t a country if it can’t secure its borders.

I have sympathy for The Dreamers and others who have lived here for decades and know no other life, but I have a strong commitment to the law and to not reward law breakers just because they were too young and it was their parents who disregarded our laws in order to provide a better life for their families.  The recent college admissions scandals are a prime example of the penalty for abusing the system.

Rewarding a bad action will only facilitate and encourage additional bad actions.  Our country’s great legacy of a melting pot was built on adding citizens who loved our country, obeyed our laws, and worked for the betterment of their new land.

By allowing micro communities to exist (and even thrive) that defied our laws to get here and defy our laws regarding their day to day activities (a la Sharia law or child genital mutilation to identify two of the more egregious activities that are being accommodated in other states under the banner of “inclusion” IN AMERICA!!) is NOT my definition of a melting pot.  It’s a shameless strategy to influence the vote in favor of a liberal agenda while letting our country be taken over by those who do NOT share our values and we’re foolish and naïve to allow it to continue.

Furthermore, illegal immigration isn’t safe and places the most vulnerable outside of the protections of the law, exposing them to abuse and exploitation.  Sex trafficking and slave labor are realities in our United States of America and in GA’s District 13.

As your representative, I will work to identify compassionate yet law respecting solutions to fix our broken immigration system and will ensure that there is adequate funding for a strong law enforcement with regard to these matters.