Immigration
Rick Noriega, candidate for U.S. Senate, and Laredo Border Sector Commander during Operation Jumpstart announced his bold and realistic plan to fix the broken immigration system today in Amarillo, calling for enhanced border security and tougher penalties for employers who break the law. His plan also includes strengthening criminal background checks to make sure that criminals are deported immediately and forcing the individuals already working here to emerge from the shadow economy to become taxpayers. Rick Noriega will be taking his plan to Texans in Lubbock and Austin later this week.
''Our nation's immigration system is broken – Texans know it first hand, as do citizens all along our southern border,'' said Rick Noriega. ''Washington's failure to solve the immigration problem has placed a tremendous burden on Texas and demands a realistic solution. We need problemsolvers, not career politicians, to get it done for the people of Texas.''
As the National Guard's Laredo Border Sector Commander during Operation Jumpstart, Rick Noriega oversaw the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to the southern border. As a result, he has seen first-hand what it takes to provide real border security on the ground to fix our broken immigration system.
As Chairman of the Task Force on Border Security in the Texas House of Representatives, Rick Noriega has also worked on the policies needed to secure our border and has seen first-hand the burden placed on states by Washington's failures to enact real reforms and fixes.
The Noriega plan will:
- 1. Secure the Border: The Noriega plan calls for immediately authorizing Operation Jump Start II, to place additional manpower on the border now. This is only a first step, however. To provide more sustainable security, the Noriega plan will develop and deploy new surveillance technologies and hire and train 18,000 new Border Agents to provide lasting security at the border. Any serious immigration plan must also address the tragic and ugly consequence of Washington's continued inaction: human trafficking – we need punishment for trafficking that matches the crime.
- 2. Crack Down on Employers: The Noriega plan will reverse the recent free pass given to employers – the past eight years have seen dramatically fewer employers penalized for illegal hiring and facilitating false documentation.
- 3. Turn Illegal Immigrants into Taxpayers and Get Rid of Real Criminals: The Noriega plan is a realistic solution, forcing the individuals already here to come out of the shadows, learn English, and pay any back taxes that they owe. We also must strengthen criminal background checks to make sure that criminals and lawbreakers are deported immediately.
John Cornyn's do-nothing record on immigration includes voting four times against the 2007 bipartisan immigration bill and against even debating the bill, despite telling The Hill that ''immigration reform is the No. 1 homeland-security issue out there.''
To read Rick Noriega's immigration plan visit http://www.ricknoriega.com/assets/img/immigration_plan.pdf
