Border Security and Immigration Reform
 

The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without se­cure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked. This is my six point plan:

1. Physically secure our borders and coast­lines. We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals.

2. Enforce visa rules. Immigration offi­cials must track visa holders and de­port anyone who overstays their visa or otherwise violates U.S. law. This is especially important when we recall that a number of 9/11 terrorists had expired visas.

3. No amnesty. Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That’s a lot of people to reward for breaking our laws.

4. No welfare for illegal aliens. Ameri­cans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules. But taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services.

5. End birthright citizenship. As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incen­tive to enter the U.S. illegally will re­main strong.

6. Pass true immigration reform. The cur­rent system is incoherent and unfair. But current reform proposals would al­low up to 60 million more immigrants into our country, according to the Heri­tage Foundation. This is insanity. Legal immigrants from all countries should face the same rules and waiting periods.

Privacy and Personal Liberty
 

The biggest threat to your privacy is the government. We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizens’ per­sonal matters.

We must stop the move toward a na­tional ID card system. All states are preparing to issue new driver’s licenses embedded with “standard identifier” data — a national ID. A national ID with new tracking technologies means we’re heading into an Orwellian world of no privacy. I voted against the Real ID Act in March of 2005.

To date, the privacy focus has been on identity theft. It was Congress that cre­ated this danger by mandating use of the standard identifier (currently your SSN) in the private sector. For example, banks use SSNs as customer account identifiers because the government requires it.

We must also protect medical privacy. Right now, you’re vulnerable. Under so-called “medical privacy protection” rules, insurance companies and other entities have access to your personal medical in­formation.

Financial privacy? Right now deposit­ing $10,000 in your local bank will gen­erate a “suspicious activity report” to the federal government.

And then there’s the so-called Patriot Act. As originally proposed, it expanded the federal government’s ability to use wire­taps without judicial oversight; allowed nationwide search warrants non-specific to any given location, nor subject to any local judicial oversight; made it far easier for the government to monitor private internet usage; authorized “sneak and peek” warrants enabling federal authori­ties to search a person’s home, office, or personal property without that person’s knowledge; and required libraries and bookstores to turn over records of books read by their patrons. Today the threat to your liberty and privacy is very real. We need leadership at the top that will prevent Washington from centralizing power and private data about our lives.

I have fought this fight for many years. I sponsored a bill to overturn the Patriot Act and have won some victories.