Ron Paul on Immigration

Real Clear Politics via Hot Air ^ | 1/03/08 | John Stossel

[Kid Shelleen]

I'd heard that that presidential candidate Ron Paul was "hard line" on immigration and "to the right" of the Republican field. But that's not exactly what he revealed during my interview with him. Here's Part 4 of my edited interview.

You want a 700-mile fence between our border and Mexico?

Ron Paul: Not really. There was an immigration bill that had a fence (requirement) in it, but it was to attack amnesty. I don't like amnesty. So I voted for that bill, but I didn't like the fence. I don't think the fence can solve a problem. I find it rather offensive.

What should we do?

Get rid of the subsidies. (If) you subsidize illegal immigration, you get more of it

[Tulsa Ramjet]

Ron Paul is not even close on anyone’s polling radar. Contributions down the drain. But, to each its own.

[TBP]

Another open-borders libertarian, I guess.

[reagan_fanatic]

A combination of a fence and tougher actions against employers who hire illegals would make a huge dent in the flow of illegal aliens into this country. We need both, not just one. One more reason why the Kookster should be passed over.

[Moose4]

No, he’s not really open-borders (he breaks from the big-L Libertarians on that). He wants to remove all subsidies and welfare and get the illegals to leave that way—which is a good idea. But why he doesn’t want to *physically* secure our borders along with that, I don’t know. Maybe he’s worried about the private property rights of landowners that adjoin the border, if there are any.

I’m not a Paul supporter, BTW, and I am a fence supporter, with proper payments to those whose land would need to be taken or have its value reduced. And if push comes to shove, much as I hate to say it, the physical security of our nation’s borders against a de facto invasion is a much more proper use of eminent domain than building a shopping center to pump up a tax base.

}:-)4

[svcw]

This article will not matter to RP supporters. It just seems they never hear what he actually says but what others say he has said or what they think he really means when he says what he says.
The more I learn about this man (RP) the more I realize how dangerous he really is.

[rhombus]

How do you see immigration in the future? If we have a healthy economy, we would probably have a lot of people coming back and forth working in this country. There was a time when (immigrants did that). That was when they didn't expect to get easy amnesty.

AKA Guest Worker program.

[Clint N. Suhks]

I find it rather offensive.

[Turbopilot]

But why he doesn’t want to *physically* secure our borders along with that, I don’t know.

Ron Paul TV Ad: Immigration

I'd never heard he didn't like the idea of a wall (just that he voted for it), but his ad makes it clear he does want to physically secure our borders. Maybe he just has a tactical disagreement; i.e. he thinks that more agents and surveillance will do a better and/or cheaper job than a wall.

[AuntB]

In Congress, Ron Paul has been a major roadblock to securing are borders from Illegal Immigrants.

2005: Ron Paul voted against the Duncan Hunter (R-CA) Amendment to H.R. 4437 to increase border controls

Rep. Paul voted against the Hunter Amendment to H.R. 4437. The Hunter Amendment would shore up security by building fences and other physical infrastructure to keep out illegal aliens. The Hunter Amendment passed by a vote of 260-159.

2005: Ron Paul voted against H.R. 418 to increase border controls

Rep. Paul voted against H.R. 418 to strengthen border control by requiring completion of the last 3.5 miles of the San Diego border fence. As well, H.R. 418 would broaden the terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and deportability of aliens. H.R. 418 passed by a vote of 261-161.

2004: Ron Paul voted against the Virgil Goode (R-VA) Amendment to H.R. 4200 authorize the U.S. military on the border

Rep. Paul voted against authorizing the Secretary of Defense to assign members of the military, under certain conditions, to assist in the performance of border control functions. The Goode Amendment passed the House by a vote of 231-191.

2001: Voted against the Traficant Amendment to H.R. 2586 to authorize the use of troops on the border

Rep. Paul voted against authorizing the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury to request that members of the Armed Forces assist the INS with border control efforts. The Traficant Amendment passed by a vote of 242-173.

http://chip91.wordpress.com/

[DugwayDuke]

“Maybe he just has a tactical disagreement; i.e. he thinks that more agents and surveillance will do a better and/or cheaper job than a wall.”

Then he should make it clear what he means by ‘physical securing the border’. Otherwise, he’s being deceptive.

[mnehring]

He is a johnny come lately to the immigration issue. Up until the past few years, he was saying things like “The US should NOT have a national immigration policy, we should just welcome anyone who wants to come here and work...”

He also has voted over and over against border security and voted for the 2001 amnesty.