| “
|
Immigration and the Rule of Law
Our party is the natural home for those who
come in search of freedom and justice. We welcome
all to the Great Opportunity Party.
The greatest asset of the American economy is
the American worker. Our immigration system must
protect American working families and their wages,
for citizens and legal immigrants alike, in a way
that will improve the economy. Just as immigrant
labor helped build our country in the past, today’s
legal immigrants are making vital contributions
in every aspect of national life. Their industry and
commitment to American values strengthens our
economy, enriches our culture, and enables us to
better understand and more effectively compete
with the rest of the world.
We are particularly grateful
to the thousands of new legal
immigrants, many of them not
yet citizens, who are serving
in the Armed Forces and
among first responders. Their
patriotism should encourage
all to embrace the newcomers
legally among us, assist their
journey to full citizenship, and
help their communities avoid isolation from the
mainstream of society. We are also thankful for the
many legal immigrants who continue to contribute
to American society. To that end, we both encourage
the preservation of heritage tongues and support
English as the nation’s official language, a unifying
force essential for the advancement of immigrant
communities and our nation as a whole.
America’s immigration policy must serve the
national interest of the United States, and the
interests of American workers must be protected
over the claims of foreign nationals seeking the
same jobs. With all our fellow citizens, we have
watched, in anger and disgust, the mocking of our
immigration laws by a president who made himself
superior to the will of the nation. We stand with
the victims of his policies, especially the families of
murdered innocents. Illegal immigration endangers
everyone, exploits the taxpayers, and insults all
who aspire to enter America legally. We oppose
any form of amnesty for those who, by breaking the
law, have disadvantaged those who have obeyed it. The executive amnesties of 2012 and 2014 are
a direct violation of federal law and usurp the
powers of Congress as outlined in Article I of the
Constitution. These unlawful amnesties must be
immediately rescinded by a Republican president. In
a time of terrorism, drug cartels, human trafficking,
and criminal gangs, the presence of millions of
unidentified individuals in this country poses grave
risks to the safety and sovereignty of the United
States. Our highest priority, therefore, must be to
secure our borders and all ports of entry and to
enforce our immigration laws.
That is why we support building a wall along
our southern border and protecting all ports of
entry. The border wall must cover the entirety
of the southern border and must be sufficient to
stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. We
insist upon workplace enforcement of verification
systems so that more jobs can be available to all
legal workers. Use of the E-verify program — an
internet-based system that verifies the employment
authorization and identity of employees — must
be made mandatory nationwide. We reaffirm our
endorsement of the SAVE program — Systematic
Alien Verification for Entitlements — to ensure that
public funds are not given to persons not legally
present in this country. We demand tough penalties
against those who engage in identity theft, deal in
fraudulent documents, and traffic in human beings.
The Department of Homeland Security must use its
authority to keep dangerous aliens off our streets
and to expedite expulsion of criminal aliens. Gang
membership should be a deportable offense. Any
previously deported illegal alien who continues to
show a lack of respect for our borders and rule
of law must be penalized. This is why we support
stiffer penalties, such as a mandatory minimum
sentence of five years, for any illegal alien who
illegally re-enters our nation after already having
been deported.
Because “sanctuary cities” violate federal law
and endanger their own citizens, they should not be
eligible for federal funding. Using state licenses to
reward people in the country illegally is an affront
to the rule of law and must be halted.
In light of both current needs and historic
practice, we urge the reform of our guest worker programs to eliminate fraud, improve efficiency
and ensure they serve the national interest. In
light of the alarming levels of unemployment and
underemployment in this country, it is indefensible
to continue offering lawful permanent residence to
more than one million foreign nationals every year.
The Supreme Court has correctly recognized that
states have the constitutional authority to take
steps to reduce illegal immigration. We condemn
the Obama Administration’s lawsuits against states
that are seeking to reinforce federal law. We support
the right of the states to enact laws deterring illegal
aliens from residing within their states.
From its beginning, our country has been a
haven of refuge and asylum. That should continue
— but with major changes. Asylum should be limited
to cases of political, ethnic or religious persecution.
As the Director of the FBI has noted, it is not
possible to vet fully all potential refugees. To ensure
our national security, refugees who cannot be
carefully vetted cannot be admitted to the country,
especially those whose homelands have been the
breeding grounds for terrorism.[6][7]
|
”
|
Ballotpedia's scope changes periodically, and this article type is no longer actively created or maintained. It may also contain neutrality issues.
Pence on immigration
