Monday, August 22, 2005

McCain Expresses Support for Judge John Roberts

Senator John McCain Expresses Support for Supreme Court Nominee Judge John Roberts

I am pleased that the President has chosen Judge John Roberts as his nominee to the Supreme Court. Judge Roberts would bring a wealth of experience to the nations highest bench having served as an attorney in private practice, as an advisor and Deputy Solicitor General at the Department of Justice and as a federal appeals court judge. I look forward to a smooth confirmation process and a swift up-or-down vote for Judge Roberts.


http://www.friendsofmccain.com/

America's border crisis

America's border crisis

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2005
America's border crisis

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2005


Anyone who has been to the border areas in Arizona and New Mexico knows about some of the horrible things that are happening at America's edge. The news is so alarming and the hope for relief from Washington is so dim that the governors of New Mexico and Arizona have finally declared states of emergency in those areas. It is as if those counties bordering on Mexico had been hit by floods or hurricanes or any other natural disaster, except that this is not a natural disaster. The scenes of death, drug smuggling, kidnapping and more are manmade, a security emergency that should be fixed, soon, by politicians in Washington and Mexico City.

Short term, the administration simply has to beef up its border surveillance and control. Although patrols have increased and equipment is more sophisticated, other border areas have been closed off in California and Texas, making New Mexico and Arizona the preferred routes for thousands of illegal immigrants over the last few years. Many are simply aiming north to get jobs so they can feed their families back in Mexico. But too many are interested in shadier pursuits.

Almost everybody who thinks hard about the immigration problem knows that the solution is not simply to build a better fence. That won't work as long as there are low-level jobs that need doing and no American citizens willing to do them. Throwing as many as 11 million illegal immigrants out of the United States is simply not going to happen.

At present, Congress has two important bills covering reform. One comes from two Republicans, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and Senator John Cornyn of Texas. The Kyl-Cornyn bill is heavy on security - which would be a good thing as long as it included a true guest worker program, but so far, it does not. The other bill, from Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, has a far better guest worker program, but not as much security. It's possible to see a way to combine these bills to make an immigration system that's better for everybody.

President George W. Bush has been promising immigration reform since he took office, and he promised once again last week that immigration would be a top priority. Through all these years, Bush, as a Texan, has made it clear that he understands this complex problem. But some of those in his party prefer to inflame the issue with anti-immigrant tirades - an embarrassment as old as America itself. The president will have to tame his own party before Americans can all move forward.

Anyone who has been to the border areas in Arizona and New Mexico knows about some of the horrible things that are happening at America's edge. The news is so alarming and the hope for relief from Washington is so dim that the governors of New Mexico and Arizona have finally declared states of emergency in those areas. It is as if those counties bordering on Mexico had been hit by floods or hurricanes or any other natural disaster, except that this is not a natural disaster. The scenes of death, drug smuggling, kidnapping and more are manmade, a security emergency that should be fixed, soon, by politicians in Washington and Mexico City.

Short term, the administration simply has to beef up its border surveillance and control. Although patrols have increased and equipment is more sophisticated, other border areas have been closed off in California and Texas, making New Mexico and Arizona the preferred routes for thousands of illegal immigrants over the last few years. Many are simply aiming north to get jobs so they can feed their families back in Mexico. But too many are interested in shadier pursuits.

Almost everybody who thinks hard about the immigration problem knows that the solution is not simply to build a better fence. That won't work as long as there are low-level jobs that need doing and no American citizens willing to do them. Throwing as many as 11 million illegal immigrants out of the United States is simply not going to happen.


At present, Congress has two important bills covering reform. One comes from two Republicans, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and Senator John Cornyn of Texas. The Kyl-Cornyn bill is heavy on security - which would be a good thing as long as it included a true guest worker program, but so far, it does not. The other bill, from Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, has a far better guest worker program, but not as much security. It's possible to see a way to combine these bills to make an immigration system that's better for everybody.

President George W. Bush has been promising immigration reform since he took office, and he promised once again last week that immigration would be a top priority. Through all these years, Bush, as a Texan, has made it clear that he understands this complex problem. But some of those in his party prefer to inflame the issue with anti-immigrant tirades - an embarrassment as old as America itself. The president will have to tame his own party before Americans can all move forward.



http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/22/opinion/edborder.php