Post by admin on Sept 6, 2006 15:20:08 GMT -5
I recieved the following email from Tom kean jr. on September 6. I had emailed him via of his web site expressing some concerns.
Dear Friends:
Thank you for your correspondence inquiring about my position on immigration. I apologize for the delay in my response. Thousands of interested citizens have been emailing me and I am working diligently to answer each and every one. As you are aware, post-Labor Day the campaign moves quickly and I wanted to make certain you received a response from me on this important issue.
Legal immigration is important for the future of our nation and we must encourage it. However, illegal migration that is left uncontrolled and unchecked threatens our national and economic security.
Our borders are not secure and this is totally unacceptable. Securing our borders must be our first priority. Washington must increase the number of border agents, make better use of technology, and have adequate facilities to detain those who are caught illegally entering or country.
We are a nation of immigrants but we are also a nation of laws. I oppose any proposal that provides amnesty to those who have broken our laws and entered our nation illegally. For those who are currently in the United States illegally we must enact a program that allows the majority of undocumented individuals to register and remain in the U.S. temporarily, before requiring them to return home. At that time, those individuals would be allowed to apply for reentry through legal means.
It is also imperative that we address the need for employers to secure a legal workforce. We must provide employers with verification tools and access to legal temporary foreign workers who will fill jobs that Americans will not do. Once we have accomplished this, employers should be penalized if they continue to hire undocumented workers.
The goal is not to close our borders to immigrants, but to require people to enter our country legally.
I am frustrated with the immigration legislation passed by the U.S. Senate. It creates a massive new guest worker program which undermines the true immigration reform that a majority of American people are demanding from their Congress. I disagreed with Bob Menendez’ vote in support of this bill - not only does it reward illegal behavior, but the Washington Post reported that under the plan, “newly legalized immigrants would claim nearly $50 billion in federal benefits such as the earned income and child tax credits, Medicaid, and Social Security.”
My opponent Bob Menendez is wrong on immigration. Menendez has flip flopped on border security, voted in favor of a massive guest worker program, voted in favor of allowing illegal aliens to collect Social Security benefits and voted against requiring photo identification at the polls. Over the course of his career in Congress, Bob Menendez voted against hiring 10,000 to 20,000 new border agents and at least five times voted against a border security fence. At every step of this debate Menendez has been far out of the mainstream, and he’ll have a tough time explaining these votes to the people of New Jersey.
America welcomes legal immigration, but we must uphold the law. The result of the bill passed by the Senate would mean that individuals who came to this country illegally will now be considered legal workers and on their way to American citizenship. Millions of law abiding applicants wait in their home countries for years for the opportunity to come to America, and this legislation dishonors those who have come to our country the right way. We will never solve the problem of illegal migration by rewarding those who break our laws, and the Senate was derelict in their responsibility to the American people to pass real immigration reform.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you on illegal immigration. I encourage you to visit my website at www.tomkean.com/ for more information on my views on immigration under the link “Immigration” in the New Jersey Issues section and to sign onto the Kean Network in the upper right hand corner for news, updates and events in your neighborhood. Please feel free to contact me with any further questions you may have.
I am asking for your support, your help, and your vote this November.
Sincerely,
Tom Kean Jr.
Dear Friends:
Thank you for your correspondence inquiring about my position on immigration. I apologize for the delay in my response. Thousands of interested citizens have been emailing me and I am working diligently to answer each and every one. As you are aware, post-Labor Day the campaign moves quickly and I wanted to make certain you received a response from me on this important issue.
Legal immigration is important for the future of our nation and we must encourage it. However, illegal migration that is left uncontrolled and unchecked threatens our national and economic security.
Our borders are not secure and this is totally unacceptable. Securing our borders must be our first priority. Washington must increase the number of border agents, make better use of technology, and have adequate facilities to detain those who are caught illegally entering or country.
We are a nation of immigrants but we are also a nation of laws. I oppose any proposal that provides amnesty to those who have broken our laws and entered our nation illegally. For those who are currently in the United States illegally we must enact a program that allows the majority of undocumented individuals to register and remain in the U.S. temporarily, before requiring them to return home. At that time, those individuals would be allowed to apply for reentry through legal means.
It is also imperative that we address the need for employers to secure a legal workforce. We must provide employers with verification tools and access to legal temporary foreign workers who will fill jobs that Americans will not do. Once we have accomplished this, employers should be penalized if they continue to hire undocumented workers.
The goal is not to close our borders to immigrants, but to require people to enter our country legally.
I am frustrated with the immigration legislation passed by the U.S. Senate. It creates a massive new guest worker program which undermines the true immigration reform that a majority of American people are demanding from their Congress. I disagreed with Bob Menendez’ vote in support of this bill - not only does it reward illegal behavior, but the Washington Post reported that under the plan, “newly legalized immigrants would claim nearly $50 billion in federal benefits such as the earned income and child tax credits, Medicaid, and Social Security.”
My opponent Bob Menendez is wrong on immigration. Menendez has flip flopped on border security, voted in favor of a massive guest worker program, voted in favor of allowing illegal aliens to collect Social Security benefits and voted against requiring photo identification at the polls. Over the course of his career in Congress, Bob Menendez voted against hiring 10,000 to 20,000 new border agents and at least five times voted against a border security fence. At every step of this debate Menendez has been far out of the mainstream, and he’ll have a tough time explaining these votes to the people of New Jersey.
America welcomes legal immigration, but we must uphold the law. The result of the bill passed by the Senate would mean that individuals who came to this country illegally will now be considered legal workers and on their way to American citizenship. Millions of law abiding applicants wait in their home countries for years for the opportunity to come to America, and this legislation dishonors those who have come to our country the right way. We will never solve the problem of illegal migration by rewarding those who break our laws, and the Senate was derelict in their responsibility to the American people to pass real immigration reform.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you on illegal immigration. I encourage you to visit my website at www.tomkean.com/ for more information on my views on immigration under the link “Immigration” in the New Jersey Issues section and to sign onto the Kean Network in the upper right hand corner for news, updates and events in your neighborhood. Please feel free to contact me with any further questions you may have.
I am asking for your support, your help, and your vote this November.
Sincerely,
Tom Kean Jr.