Townsend goes on Fox Business to correct Senator Pettyjohn
From Bryan Townsend:
I was happy for the opportunity to set the record straight earlier this week on Fox Business.
Delaware and other states are having to lead on immigration issues because of Congress’s failure to enact comprehensive federal immigration reform over the past several decades. Last year, I introduced two bills aimed at improving public safety. We successfully passed a driving privilege card, which improves safety on Delaware’s roads. A second bill was meant to enhance trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement and encourage undocumented immigrants to report crimes without fear of detention or deportation solely on the basis of legal status. However, we learned that Delaware police had already adopted these policies and so last year we decided not to advance this particular piece of legislation.
The reality is that we have a broken immigration system and we need members of Congress who are willing to fix it through comprehensive immigration reform. We should know who is in our country, and we should create a pathway to citizenship so that our hardworking neighbors can fully participate and contribute to our communities. What we cannot afford is anti-immigrant sentiment and excuses for inaction. Most of us are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. Our history is built on the spirit and hard work of immigrant communities, and so is our future.
OK, but close the door before you create a path to citizenship, and I don’t mean a border wall. A “comprehensive” bill without an e-Verify mandate and strong employer sanctions is a non-starter for me. And reduce H1-B placements, don’t increase them. Build the wall in the workplace and build it of laws, not bricks.
Make it a funded US policy to improve conditions in each of the home countries. Increase legal non-asylum immigration quotas but make the number float each year contingent on Presidential certification that the job market warrants additional labor. Do all that as a condition for creating a permanent path to citizenship.
I’d like to hear Townsend think this through instead of just jumping on the comprehensive bandwagon.
“A “comprehensive” bill without an e-Verify mandate and strong employer sanctions ”
Absolutely! I’d use a high emoji, if I knew how to include it in a comment.
Employers who hire non-U.S. citizens are exploiting not just the employees they are underpaying, but the nation and its citizens. In my view, strong employer sanctions are not just civil sanctions, they are criminal.
I meant a high five emoji, not a high emoji.
E-Verify mandate…..and boom goes comprehensive immigration reform because business’ are completely happy hiring illegals.
Neither party is serious about immigration reform because both of them receive some kind of benefit from not making the hard decisions or compromising.
Not sure my comment came out right. Just to be clear, I am a strong proponent of e-Verify which has an accuracy rate approaching 99%. If every employer had to use e-Verify then they would have to treat workers better because legitimate workers have some workplace protections.
Hillary’s issues page is silent on e-Verify, and silent on anything about employers. I assume any immigration bill will be silent on those too.
Really hope this issue does not hurt Townsend….
Why did he drop the bill right before he learned Pettyjohn was going to hand his ass to him on Fox? I’m still confused as to the timing.
The kid needs to learn to tie a tie, though he’s not alone even some TV anchors can’t. Actually you can learn to tie a tie in the Military which proves it not solely an intellectual exercise, but Mr. Townsend probably wasn’t interested in something that would be so controlling as the Armed Forces.
His tie looks fine to me.
A real leader brings up the misspelling of Delaware as his first point.
Seriously though, no one thinks the timing of the bill being pulled is curious?