Thread: Chambliss: Border security crucial to addressing immigration

Published August 13, 2007 11:00 pm -

Chambliss: Border security crucial to addressing immigration complexities


Lori Glenn


MOULTRIE — Estimates of illegal workers in the Colquitt County area alternately range from 15,000 to 18,000 at certain peaks in the work season. U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss brought home a word of caution Monday after the Bush administration’s announcement Friday to crack down on employers who knowingly employ undocumented workers.


Colquitt County boasts $385 million in farm gate value — the highest in the state. Of that, about $141 million in farm gate value is in vegetables, an industry which relies heavily on labor, much of it fulfilled by undocumented workers.

“This approach is probably the best approach right now. It may move us toward an overall immigration reform package down the road, but if we have border security first, I really do think that the American people are going to immediately demand in the near term a good temporary worker program and figure out some way to accommodate these people who are here illegally. I don’t know what it would be,â€

[quote]“This approach is probably the best approach right now. It may move us toward an overall immigration reform package down the road, but if we have border security first, I really do think that the American people are going to immediately demand in the near term a good temporary worker program and figure out some way to accommodate these people who are here illegally. I don’t know what it would be,â€