19 October 2009 // 09:58 am // 0 Comments
On Immigration
All of us celebrate the heritage of another land in some way. We called our grandfathers “Opa” or “Bestefar” or “A-yea”. We drink coffee from Latin America, tea from Asia, wine from France or beer from Germany. The different ways we talk, dress, eat or worship tell us things about each other that help us better understand each other. Better communicate with each other. And because Iowans are committed to put others above ourselves, those things help us better serve each other. They make us better neighbors.
Immigration should not divide us.
We look different from each other. People judge by outward appearances, but it is the heart that matters. Whether you are from a multi-generational family on a Century Farm, or a new Iowan, at the heart of what makes an Iowan are the same core values of hard work, loyalty, neighborliness, faith and family.
As the son of a legal immigrant from Hong Kong / China, I have a unique view. After all, before the challenge was with our southern border, in the mid-1800s our immigration issues were with China. Anti-Chinese and white supremacist groups took control of California politics. State politics turned national, and the immigration debate turned ugly. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into law. This act barred Chinese laborers from entering the United States, refused the normal, legal path of citizenship to those who were already here, and required Chinese to register where they were living. It extended to anyone of Chinese descent and by 1905, the US Supreme Court said that border guards could detain and refuse entry to even a US citizen of Chinese descent. They were deporting actual American citizens!
The roots of our immigration policy drink from a history of the blatantly unconstitutional enforcement of racism. That history is still encoded in US law. Today, in 2009, the US Code, Title 8, Chapter 7 is still entitled “Exclusion of Chinese.” That’s our roots. And if the roots are bad, how can we expect those policies to bear good fruit. The policies are broken, and the current situation is unacceptable.
In Iowa, there are about 70,000 illegal immigrants. One study showed those immigrants skirt about 20% of their taxes. The employers that employ them often skirt taxes and labor laws, gaining an unfair advantage over competitors.
I am the son of an immigrant, so it is important that I be clear where I stand on this issue:
- Illegal immigration is, well, illegal. As Governor, I would enforce immigration laws. A politician who selectively enforces laws is a tyrant in the making.
- The public benefits of Iowa should be restricted, as much as possible, to Iowa’s legal residents.
- In the eyes of the law, there is nothing fuzzy about a person’s status. You’re living here legally, or illegally. There’s nothing in between. We should create no laws that create a soft third option.
- Iowa’s private citizens should be free to treat each other with any amount of compassion or service they wish. People can, and should, freely show compassion. Yet the State must deliver justice.
What would I do? I believe prevention is the best medicine, so let’s start by slowing the inflow of illegal immigration.
- Strict enforcement of labor laws. If an employer knowingly hires an illegal immigrant, that employer should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If jobs aren’t available, people won’t come.
- Recently, our state government considered the Dream Act – to give in-state college tuition to the kids of illegal immigrants. I would not sign such a bill. The fact of the matter is, when fewer public benefits are available to illegal immigrants, fewer illegal immigrants come to Iowa.
- Deportation is often necessary. I’d do it in a humane way. Justice can, and should, be served without splitting up families along the way. That’s the Iowa way.
- Finally, I would celebrate legal immigration. People, like my father, who followed the law.
His story, and my story, should tell every new American living among us, that if you do it the right way, the Iowa Dream is available to you, right here.
To them, I say, Welcome to Iowa. Welcome to the Republican Party. We’re on your side. We’re on the side of people who want to learn English, stay in school, work hard and integrate into Iowa. We’re on the side of people who willingly pay their fair share of taxes, who become part of the solutions emerging from churches, families and communities across Iowa. The State of Iowa, the Republican Party, and Christian Fong as Governor, will always be on the side of people who play by the rules and work to make Iowa a better place.
