Deseret News candidate questionnaire: U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 21, 2008

1 -- Please give point by point your solution to the U.S. illegal immigration problem?

"Point 1: Complete the Border Fence I voted for and support and continue to staff up the Border Patrol to cover the entire southwest border.

"Point 2: Institute a tamper-proof ID card for all immigrants seeking to work in the United States. This ID card would employ biometrics and interface with an entry-exit database.

"Point 3: Strengthen E-verify for employers to eliminate excuses and confusion inherent in our current work verification process. Employers should know in minutes if an applicant is legal.

"Point 4: Require any immigrant seeking US Citizenship to demonstrate a proficiency in English, American History, and Civics.

"Point 5: Institute "Catch and Deport" while mandating that after a certain date, any person found in the US illegally, would be barred from re-entry for any reason for 10, 20, or more years.

"Point 6: Create a process whereby anyone currently in the United States illegally can come forward, pay a fine, receive a criminal background check, go to the end of the line if interested in becoming a US citizen, receive a temporary work status, forfeit all Social Security monies earned, be required to either have employer provided health insurance or a Health Savings Account. If anyone is found to have a criminal history of any kind, they are to be deported and barred from re-entry. If anyone is found after the grace period, they are to be deported and barred from re-entry.

"Point 7: Enforce the law and the new programs from day 1."

2 -- What specifically should be done about the 12 million or so illegal immigrants who are now in the United States?

"Create a process whereby anyone currently in the United States illegally can come forward, pay a fine, receive a criminal background check, go to the end of the line if interested in becoming a US citizen, receive a temporary work status, forfeit all Social Security monies earned, be required to either have employer provided health insurance or an Health Savings Account. If anyone is found to have a criminal history of any kind, they are to be deported and barred from re-entry. If anyone is found after the grace period, they are to be deported and barred from re-entry.

"Attempting to round up 12 million people presents serious civil liberties issues, and I doubt most Americans particularly Utah conservatives would approve of the process doing so would require. Authorities would still have to have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to inquire as to someones status, and without a verifiable identification system, ascertaining someones status would be difficult within the legal time frame to hold someone. Once we begin enforcing the law and employers are provided with a legitimate e-verify system, neither workers nor employers will have any excuse or place to hide. This enforcement will do more than any law enforcement agency could do to ameliorate the problem."

3 -- Do you favor or oppose some kind of pathway to legal status for the current illegal immigrants?

"I favor a path to legal status for those in this country illegally who have not committed any crimes and are willing to come forward, pay a fine, learn English within a specified period of time, acquire health insurance or establish a funded HSA, and go to the back of the line. The legal status would be temporary and with a verifiable entry/exit ID system, I would also agree to requiring a return to their home country for a period of time before they could apply again to work in the United States."

4 -- Utah has a state law that allows children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition to public colleges and universities. Do you favor or oppose that law? And do you believe Congress should pass a similar law?

"I believe that decision belongs solely to the Utah legislature. Congress should pass no law mandating, either way, how states should treat children of illegal immigrants vis-a-vis education, and I have sponsored legislation to make that state primacy absolutely clear."

5 -- What specifically can you do to make sure Congress comes up with an illegal immigration solution over the next two years of your term?

"On this issue, I have influence on both sides of the debate. As someone who is open to a guest worker program but who also voted for and supports securing the border without exception, I have the credibility to help maneuver the legislation through the legislative process. I can assure wavering members on both sides to support border security and enforcement first, while working to help create a verifiable and stable immigration system. In my time in office and through my years on the Judiciary Committee, I have worked extensively on this issue much more deeply than the sound-bite level, so when the time is ripe to move the issue forward I can advocate the correct direction we should take and solutions that will actually work. For example, because of the years I have spent on this issue I opposed the Senate Comprehensive Immigration Plan last year not out of emotion but out of fact that it was unworkable and bad policy."