|
|
Richard Carmona on Immigration |
Carmona said immigration reform will help boost commerce. "It's an important thing, because without comprehensive immigration reform, comprehensive tax reform, our small businesses are going to continue to suffer," Carmona said.
Carmona said comprehensive immigration reform should include visas, day-worker programs "that don't impede commerce but actually enhance commerce." They both agreed that border security needs to be stepped up..
A: There are too many important issues that we have to deal with as a state and as a nation to be bickering about who's to blame for this. There are simple ways to solve this problem if we will allow the politics to be left at the door.
Q: You said it starts with a secure border. Explain that.
A: A secure border is really a dynamic concept. If you looked at the concept of a secure border 20 years ago, it was boots on the ground. As we've evolved we have sensors, we have electronic surveillances, we have drones, we have human intelligence working both sides of the border. So it's a lot more complex and layered system that protects our nation. So, do I know what will be best in five or 10 years? No, but I know that as long as there is demand to come here or to bring drugs in, people will always try to counteract our defense mechanism. The other side is, of course, prevention. It just can't be interdiction, it has to be prevention as well.
Carmona had some blunt criticism for Republicans on the topic of illegal immigration. "Why do you think they're reworking their initial vitriolic, far-right, 'deport everybody' message?" he asked. "Why? Do you think that all of a sudden there's an epiphany and their hearts have opened up to people who are struggling? I don't think so. I think it's a political calculation--that they recognized they cannot win their races and stay in office unless they embrace the Hispanic community. So, I really feel it's very disingenuous."
The original DREAM Act would grant young people who were brought illegally to the US as children a path to citizenship provided that they attend college or serve in the military. Rubio's plan would provide not a path to citizenship but rather non-immigrant visas.
First and foremost, we need to ensure our borders are safe and secure. We need to overhaul our immigration laws and support a comprehensive approach that is practical, tough and fair. That means securing the border, cracking down on drug and human smuggling, punishing companies who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and eliminating a nefarious labor market that exploits those living in the shadows of our society. We should also pass the DREAM Act that creates a path to legalization for children, who, through no fault of their own, were brought into this country at a young age, and are either going to college or have enlisted in the military.
