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Morris: Secure the borders and deport illegals

Posted December 11, 2007 10:00 pm

Bernard Schoenburg

The United States' borders should be secured, and when they are, people here illegally should be deported as they are detected, John Morris, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House from the 18th Congressional District, said Tuesday.

He also said English should be the country's official language.

"Congress needs to do its part by enacting tough legislation that results in the deportation of people who enter the U.S. illegally" as well as those who overstay valid visas, he said at a Statehouse news conference on immigration policy.

"I think you crack down over time," Morris added. "There's no magic wand, and you can't do it tomorrow, maybe not next year, but … this has got to be a land of laws."

Asked about a proposal that had been pushed by President Bush to allow illegal residents to get on a citizenship track, Morris said he is "opposed to anything that resembles amnesty." He said people now in the United States illegally "need to reapply" after being deported.

Morris said that at forums across the 18th, which extends from Peoria to Springfield, people have raised the issue of illegal immigration. And he said it's a safety issue as well as one of legality or the economy.

"Each year, drug traffickers, gangs and individuals smuggle millions of dollars' worth of meth, marijuana and cocaine into the United States from Mexico," Morris said. "Guns and money are illegally transported across the border on a daily basis. There remains the possibility that criminals, gang members or even a terrorist could smuggle in dirty bombs, radioactive materials or biological weapons."

He also said people can bring into the country communicable diseases such as tuberculosis or severe acute respiratory syndrome, known as SARS.

Morris is also starting an online petition drive aimed at U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., because of a Nov. 28 column by John Fund in Opinion Journal at WSJ.com, about Pelosi and the use of English in the workplace. The column states that Pelosi was holding up a $53 billion appropriations bill funding the FBI, NASA and the Justice Department in order to block an attached amendment that would protect The Salvation Army and other employers from being sued by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission over rules that require employees to learn English.

The online petition is at www.protectenglish.com, which links to Morris' campaign Web site.

"Employers, owners and managers should be able to enact English-only policies at the workplace if they so choose," Morris said.

"I think that English should be the formal language of the country, and people that come into our country legally should be given every opportunity to learn it and to assimilate."

He also said in prepared remarks that "Congress should restrict funds to state and local governments who create safe havens for illegal immigration, including … extending privileges such as driver's licenses to them."

"I'm not saying you restrict every federal dollar," he said, but government could fashion "certain restrictions" to help end illegal immigration.

Morris stressed that he's not against legal immigration, and thinks the United States should "develop more efficient means to permit legal immigration to those who seek the American dream."

"You don't want to keep Albert Einstein out of this country, and thank God we didn't," he said.

He also said he's not specifying how to secure the borders.

"I don't care whether it's a wall or a fence or a guy on a horse," he said. "I don't think a congressman or the United States Congress should be the experts on the economic feasibility of each of the technologies that might be used. … I think what we ought to be experts on is the notion that this is something that needs to happen for the safety of our country."

Morris is running in the Feb. 5 GOP primary against Jim McConoughey and state Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, for the nomination to the seat being given up by U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria. Democrat Dick Versace announced last week that he was withdrawing from the race, making it likely that a Democrat will be appointed to the November ballot by party officials after the primary.

McConoughey's Web site states that he opposes amnesty programs for illegal immigrants and "will advocate for securing U.S. borders and enforcing immigration policies."

Schock said Tuesday he also supports securing the borders, including "building the fence."

Schock said he opposes the Bush plan to allow citizenship for people in the United States illegally, but he stopped short of advocating a mass deportation.

"I think there ought to be a penalty for them," Schock said, adding, "the process for them to become a citizen will be negotiated."

Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at (217) 788-1540 or bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com.

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