[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6364]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             WHAT WOULD REAGAN DO ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Alabama (Mr. Brooks) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, what would President Ronald 
Reagan do about illegal immigration?
  Mr. Speaker, let me share verbatim with you parts of a 2006 editorial 
by Ronald Reagan's Attorney General, Edwin Meese, that is instructive:

       What would Ronald Reagan do? I can't tell you how many 
     times I have been asked that question, on virtually every 
     issue imaginable.
       Immigration is one area where Reagan's principles can guide 
     us, and the lessons are instructive.
       President Reagan set out to correct the loss of control at 
     our borders. Border security and enforcement of immigration 
     laws would be greatly strengthened, in particular through 
     sanctions against employers who hired illegal immigrants. If 
     jobs were the attraction for illegal immigrants, then cutting 
     off that option was crucial.
       He also agreed with the legislation in adjusting the status 
     of immigrants, even if they had entered illegally, who were 
     law-abiding long-term residents, many of whom had children in 
     the United States.
       Illegal immigrants who could establish that they had 
     resided in America continuously for 5 years would be granted 
     temporary resident status, which could be upgraded to 
     permanent residency after another 18 months and, after 
     another 5 years, to citizenship. It wasn't automatic. They 
     had to pay application fees, learn to speak English, 
     understand American civics, pass a medical exam and register 
     for military Selective Service. Those with convictions for a 
     felony or three misdemeanors were ineligible.
       The lesson from the 1986 experience is that such an amnesty 
     did not solve the problem. There was extensive document 
     fraud, and the number of people applying for amnesty far 
     exceeded projections. And there was a failure of political 
     will to enforce new laws against employers. After a brief 
     slowdown, illegal immigration returned to high levels and 
     continued unabated, forming the nucleus of today's large 
     population of illegal aliens.
       So here we are, having much the same debate and being 
     offered much the same deal.
       What would President Reagan do? For one thing, he would not 
     repeat the mistakes of the past, including those of his own 
     administration. He knew that secure borders are vital and 
     would now insist on meeting that priority first. He would 
     seek to strengthen the enforcement of existing immigration 
     laws. He would employ new tools like biometric technology for 
     identification and cameras, sensors and satellites to monitor 
     the border that make enforcement and verification less 
     onerous and more effective.
       One idea President Reagan had at the time that we might 
     also try improving on is to create a pilot program that would 
     allow genuinely temporary workers to come to the United 
     States, a reasonable program consistent with security and 
     open to the needs and dynamics of our market economy.
       And what about those already here? Today it seems to me 
     that the fair policy, one that will not encourage further 
     illegal immigration, is to give those here illegally the 
     opportunity to correct their status by returning to their 
     country of origin and getting in line with everyone else. 
     This, along with serious enforcement and control of the 
     illegal inflow at the border, a combination of incentives and 
     disincentives, will significantly reduce over time our 
     population of illegal immigrants.
       Lastly, we should remember Reagan's commitment to the idea 
     that America must remain open and welcoming to those yearning 
     for freedom. As a Nation based on ideas, Ronald Reagan 
     believed that there was something unique about America and 
     that anyone, from anywhere, could become an American. That 
     means that while we seek to meet the challenge of illegal 
     immigration, we must keep open the door of opportunity by 
     preserving and enhancing our heritage of legal immigration, 
     assuring that those who choose to come here permanently 
     become Americans. In the end, it was his principled policy--
     and it should be ours--to ``humanely regain control of our 
     borders and thereby preserve the value of one of the most 
     sacred possessions of our people: American citizenship.''

  According to Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese, President Ronald 
Reagan would learn from history and not repeat the 1986 amnesty mistake 
that created today's illegal alien problem, the very same amnesty that 
today's President and so many Senators and Congressmen demand.
  President Reagan would insist that those who are here illegally must 
repent and atone for their illegal conduct by returning to their 
country of origin and getting in line with everyone else.
  Mr. Speaker, America's most cherished right is American citizenship. 
Foreigners whose first action on American soil is illegal conduct are 
not deserving of that cherished right.

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