Immigration and Border Control

I have a huge respect for the rich cultural heritage of the Hispanic community in Arizona and all they have done to help build our state and America. Mexico is our neighbor and ally, not our enemy, and all American's, not just Arizonan's, must nurture and help grow our relationship to the best of our ability.

But I also believe very strongly that we cannot compromise the responsibility we have to the residents of Arizona by allowing our vital resources to be recklessly abused and depleted by people who are here illegally from Mexico or any other country.

Historically, state and local officials have claimed that the federal government has not done all it can do to control smuggling and related violence in Arizona. This has left our cities and towns wide open to a variety of crimes committed by human traffickers and has created a huge financial burden for Arizona as it try's to keep up with the costs of having a porous border.

I feel that we need the federal government to help us control the increasing smuggling problem as well as illegal immigration issues by helping us secure additional National Guard troops to help the 140 troops who are already there. I believe our governor should lead this change and allow the use of law enforcement resources to ensure it is all done in a timely manner.

We passed SB1070, which is now receiving a lot of attention and negative publicity, locally, nationally, and internationally. This is an extremely comprehensive and thorough enforcement bill, which mirrors existing federal legislation, and one that I wholeheartedly support. The bill will enable law enforcement to do their jobs to enforce our immigration laws, and help keep us all safe.

Ideally, Arizona will take a very aggressive lead in border relations with Mexico and help reinforce economic prosperity, which in turn will lead to a stronger and safer Mexico and a stronger economy for Mexican citizens. A prosperous Mexico is the only proper strategic goal that makea any sense.

In order to win the war against illegal immigration, we have to stand together and stay strong. There will be those who say we are intolerant and racist, and that we lack humanity. But we know that this is not true. I believe that if we fail to manage our resources, ensure our safety and protect our way of life, it will make the qualities tolerance, humanity and generosity nearly impossible to achieve.