Duncan Hunter on Immigration Republican Representative (CA-52)

Hispanic community does not agree with having open borders

A: I represent a district in San Diego that for many, many years is a majority Hispanic and two-to-one Democrat. You know what you do? You look people in the eye and you talk to them frankly. I would say this: I got more votes from the Hispanic community--known as the guy who built the border fence--than anybody running for office. That means that the Hispanic community in the United States does not agree with the idea of having open borders. They do agree with the idea of having order on the border and having a regulated system where this lady of freedom standing behind me, the Statue of Liberty, says: Come in, but follow the rules.

Folks here illegally have to leave, to protect our jobs

A: Folks that are here illegally have to leave and let me tell you why. Today, if you’re a dry wall contractor and you play by the rules & pay $27/hour, you will be constantly under-cut by contractors who use people who are here illegally. That’s not fair to Americans who play by the rules. That’s one reason you have, in certain areas, especially in the construction trades now, higher levels of unemployment.

Rescind Bush’s order allowing Mexican trucks on US roads

• HUCKABEE: Yes.
• TANCREDO: Yes.
• COX: Yes.
• BROWNBACK: Yes.
• PAUL: Yes.
• HUNTER: Yes.
• KEYES: Yes.

Complete fence, despite difficulties, because it’s the law

Here’s what we tell them: It’s the law. And you know, I built that border fence in San Diego. And it’s really two fences. It’s a double fence. It’s not that scraggly little fence that they keep showing on CNN with people hopping over it. If you get over my fence, we sign you up for the Olympics immediately. Now, that fence is a double fence with a road in between, and it reduced the smuggling of people and drugs in San Diego by 90%. And that’s the reason I wrote the law that extends it 854 miles across Arizona, New Mexico & Texas. They’ve only done 17.9 miles. As president, I will complete all 854 miles in six months. That’s my commitment. It’s the law.

FactCheck: Only 9 miles of fence in San Diego after 11 years

This administration has “the slows” on border enforcement

Keep rule barring immigrants from running for president

HUNTER: We haven’t seen his endorsement yet. That’s a no.

GILMORE: No, I want to amend this Constitution in a variety of different ways, and this would be not a good start to do it that way.

McCAIN: He and I have many similar attributes, so I have to seriously consider it.

I built the 854-mile border fence and it cut down crime

A: You know, it’s a way to win, but we need to win the right way. In my town of San Diego, we build the border fence. When we built that fence, we had a border out of control, and we built that fence. And it’s a double fence. It’s not that little scraggly fence you see on CNN with everybody getting over it. We had massive murders on the border, massive illegal immigration, massive importation of drugs. I built that border fence. We brought down the smuggling of people and narcotics by more than 90%. I wrote that law that extends the San Diego fence for 854 miles across AZ, NM, & TX. One way to bring down crime in every state is to have an enforceable border. That means let’s build that border fence. When people want to come into this country, let’s ask them to knock on the front door.

FactCheck: 854-mile fence shifted crime more than cutting it

San Diego’s 14-mile fence was supposed to cost $14 million, but the DHS estimates that by the time it’s finished it will have cost $127 million to build. Litigation by environmentalists over the feds’ proposal to pour 5.5 million cubic feet of dirt into a valley to flatten the terrain caused major construction delays.

Overall apprehensions in the San Diego sector declined by 76% after the fence was begun. Meanwhile, however, apprehensions increased in others sectors further east, most notably a 591% increase in the Tucson sector between 1992 and 2004.

Hinting at amnesty causes a rush to the border

A: The president’s wrong on that one, and I’ll tell you why. Every time the president sends out a message or Congress sends a message that there’s a real or perceived benefit, there’s something good to be had in America if you come in illegally, you start a stampede for the border. And we’ve seen that in the number of border arrests that happen every time the president makes a speech in which he even hints at amnesty. It doesn’t make any sense to have this thin line of border patrolmen and now the 6,000 National Guardsmen that the president has sent to the border protecting our border, and at the same time make political statements [that encourage illegal immigration]

Voted YES on building a fence along the Mexican border.

1. systematic border surveillance through more effective use of personnel and technology; and
2. physical infrastructure enhancements to prevent unlawful border entry

Proponents support voting YES because:

It is obvious there is no more defining issue in our Nation today than stopping illegal immigration. The most basic obligation of any government is to secure the Nation's borders. One issue in which there appears to be a consensus between the Senate and the House is on the issue of building a secure fence. So rather than wait until comprehensive legislation is enacted, we should move forward on targeted legislation which is effective and meaningful. The legislation today provides over 700 miles of two-layered reinforced fencing, and for the rest of the border provides a virtual fence, via integrated surveillance technology.

Opponents support voting NO because:

Just to build the fence is going to cost us at least $7 billion. Where is the money coming from to pay for it? How much is it going to cost to maintain this 700-mile fence? Who is going to do it? This bill contains no funding.

This bill also ignores real enforcement measures, like hiring more Border Patrol personnel, and instead builds a Berlin Wall on our southern border. So long as employers need workers in this country, and while our immigration systems impede rather than facilitate timely access of willing workers to those opportunities, undocumented immigration will never be controlled.

Walls, barriers, and military patrols will only force those immigrants to utilize ever more dangerous routes and increase the number of people who die in search of an opportunity to feed and clothe their families.

Voted YES on preventing tipping off Mexicans about Minuteman Project.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to provide a foreign government information relating to the activities of an organized volunteer civilian action group, operating in the State of California, Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona, unless required by international treaty.

The amendment's sponsor said on its behalf:
• What this amendment does is it clarifies Congress' position on a Border Patrol practice or a practice of the US Government that tips off illegal immigrants as to where citizen patrols may be located.
• As a response to the lawlessness along the Mexican border, a group has sprung up called the Minutemen Project, and the Minutemen Project is definitely not politically correct in Washington DC. However, they filled a void which the government was unable to fill.
• There are over 7,000 volunteers in the Minutemen organization, and their help has been productive and good.
• What my amendment does is simply says that the U.S. Government cannot tip off the Mexican officials as to where these folks are located. Plain and simple, nothing fancy about it. I am sure the Border Patrol will say, oh, no, we are not doing that, and yet one of the Web pages of the Secretary of Mexico had the information very explicit, and we just do not believe that is a good practice.

Voted YES on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment.

Voted NO on extending Immigrant Residency rules.

Voted NO on more immigrant visas for skilled workers.

Rated 100% by FAIR, indicating a voting record restricting immigration.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, non-profit, public interest membership organization of concerned citizens united by their belief in the need for immigration reform. Founded in 1979, FAIR believes that the U.S. can and must have an immigration policy that is non-discriminatory and designed to serve the environmental, economic, and social needs of our country.

FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interest—more traditional rates of about 300,000 a year.

With more than 70,000 members nationwide, FAIR is a non-partisan group whose membership runs the gamut from liberal to conservative.

The ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.

Rated 92% by USBC, indicating a sealed-border stance.

OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005-2006 USBC scores as follows:

• 0%-30%: open-border stance (approx. 197 members)
• 30%-70%: mixed record on open borders (approx. 70 members)
• 70%-100%: sealed-border stance (approx. 202 members)

U.S. Border Control, founded in 1988, is a non-profit, tax-exempt, citizen's lobby. USBC is dedicated to ending illegal immigration by securing our nation's borders and reforming our immigration policies. USBC [works with] Congressmen to stop amnesty; seal our borders against terrorism and illegal immigration; and, preserve our nation's language, culture and American way of life for future generations.

Our organization accepts no financial support from any branch of government. All our support comes from concerned citizens who appreciate the work we are doing to seal our borders against drugs, disease, illegal migration and terrorism and wish to preserve our nation's language, culture and heritage for the next generations.

Declared English the official language of the US.

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY:

Amends Federal law to declare English to be the official language of the US Government.
• Representatives of the Federal Government have an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the role of English as the official language of the Federal Government.
• Requires such representatives to conduct official business in English.
• Prohibits anyone from being denied Government services because he or she communicates in English.
• Requires that all officials conduct all naturalization ceremonies entirely in English.
• Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the preservation or use of Native Alaskan or Native American languages.

EXCERPTS FROM BILL:

The Congress finds and declares the following:
2. The US is comprised of individuals and groups from diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds.
4. The US has benefited and continues to benefit from this rich diversity.
5. The common thread binding individuals of differing backgrounds has been a common language.
6. The Federal Government should maintain a language common to all people.
7. English has historically been the common language and the language of opportunity in the US.
8. The purpose of this title is to help immigrants better assimilate and take full advantage of opportunities in the US.
9. By learning the English language, immigrants will be empowered with the language skills and literacy necessary to become responsible citizens and productive workers in the US.
10. The use of a single common language in conducting official business of the Federal Government will promote efficiency and fairness.
11. English should be recognized in law as the language of official business of the Federal Government.
12. Any monetary savings derived from the enactment of this title should be used for the teaching of the English language to non-English-speaking immigrants.