Deport them all, not just some. All of them are criminals!


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Capito says border control is top priority
by Jake Stump
Daily Mail Staff

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are revamping legislation that would make it easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens.

That concerns Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, W.Va., who pounded on the illegal immigration issue this year in her re-election bid.

The new Democratic-controlled Congress convenes next week and will apparently take a friendlier look at granting 10 million illegal immigrants eligibility to apply for citizenship.

Any new legislation could also do away with a proposed 700-mile fence along the border with Mexico.

"It is very different than the bill I supported last year," Capito said. "I'm concerned about it, honestly."

Capito supported a House bill bolstering border security, which included the 700-mile fence, and cracking down on businesses employing illegal immigrants. It passed the House before the Senate tweaked it into a more comprehensive bill. However, both houses could only reach an agreement on the fence initiative in the end.

Capito believes the country needs to secure its borders before addressing other immigration policies.

"A fence for border control is absolutely essential," Capito said. "If we pass some comprehensive immigration policy without controlling the border, it will be a useless endeavor."

Details of the bill won't be introduced until next month, when the Senate plans to unveil the measure.

Lawmakers drafting the legislation include Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz. and Ed Kennedy, D-Mass.

This bipartisan effort represents a swift change in immigration strategy on Capitol Hill. Earlier this year, a Senate bill proposed illegal immigrants leave the country before meeting an eligibility requirement to apply for U.S. citizenship.

Instead, lawmakers reportedly want illegal immigrants to just maintain employment, pay back taxes and try to learn English to become citizens. They would also succumb to a criminal background check.

Capito said she isn't sure if a Democratic-ruled Congress is the real cause of this change in perspective.

She said there had already been support for allowing illegal immigrants to stay and work in the country.

"Obviously, the president supports it," Capito said. "It's the president's desire to pass a comprehensive bill like this, and I don't think it's the right direction to go. It's not just the Congress."

President Bush stated last week he hoped to sign an immigration bill in 2007.

A few illegal immigrants living in West Virginia this year were involved in high profile arrests.

In August, Christian Javier Sanchez-Rubio was apparently drunk when he crashed a Dodge Dakota into another vehicle killing 4-year-old Tyler Evans in Boone County. Police said Sanchez-Rubio had a fake Green Card and Mexican's driver's license. He was working at area coal mines for Minserco, a contractor based in Milwaukee, Wis.

That same month, U.S. marshals in Elkins arrested Leon Lugo Andrade for slaying a Texas seafood shop owner with a machete. Andrade was living in the Elkins area working in the lumber industry. He was extradited to Texas where he faces a murder charge.

"In talking with constituents over the last year on immigration, it's abundantly clear that a pathway to citizenship for people coming here illegally is a nonstarter until we control the borders," Capito said. "The first place to start is by ridding ourselves of the most undesirable. The ones that are here as destructive forces to the country -- the criminals and offenders who are soaking up resources.

"The easily identifiable illegal immigrants should be sent back and get to the back of the line. I'm not anti-immigration. I'm anti-illegal immigration."

Contact writer Jake Stump at jakestump@dailymail.com or 348-4842.