CD8 Republicans find a lot to criticize on border security, illegal immigration



Republican candidates in Congressional District 8 - from left: Dave Sitton, Frank Antenori, Jesse Kelly and Martha McSally - debated border security and immigration Thursday at Sabino High School. They're running in a primary for a special election to complete Gabrielle Giffords' term.

Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star
Posted: Friday, March 16, 2012 12:00 am

Border security and illegal immigration are always keystone issues in Congressional District 8, which includes some of the busiest drug- and people-smuggling corridors along Arizona's U.S.-Mexico border.

During a Republican debate Thursday night hosted by the Sabino Teenage Republicans, the four GOP candidates in the CD 8 special election talked about their views on the topic.

Here is what Jesse Kelly, Dave Sitton, Martha McSally and Frank Antenori said when asked how they would bridge the gap between doing what's needed to enforce laws of the nation and increase border security, but not lose needed support of the political opposition:

Kelly

Kelly said the solution is to build the double-layered fence along the border that is required by a law passed by Congress. Those barriers work, he said, pointing to violent-crime decreases in San Diego and Yuma after the double fencing went up on the border there.

"Those who say it doesn't work simply haven't looked at the statistics," Kelly said.

The country already knows what works, and Republicans just need to win more elections, he said.

"It's the law right now that we have a bright, shiny, double-layered border fence right below us," said Kelly, a project manager in a family construction company who lost to then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in 2010. "Why haven't we done it? Because we haven't elected people with the guts to get it done. It's time to do so."

Sitton

The issue must be discussed differently, said Sitton, a sports broadcaster who has worked 22 years in communications. Legislators need to articulate to the American public that the border and immigration are two separate issues that must be dealt with differently, he said.

The confusion leads to people being called racist for advocating for more border security on behalf of Southern Arizona ranchers who sleep with firearms to protect themselves, he said.

Having lived in the district for nearly 40 years, he said he understands the difference and has a grasp on the relationship between the United States and Mexico. He said deregulating the economy would provide the U.S. the ability to bring labor from Mexico legally, if needed.

Sitton said the legal immigration system brings in people who want to learn our language, customs and history and must be discussed apart from border security.

"We can make this work with all parties if we start working together and understand that a secure border benefits all Americans," Sitton said.

McSally

The No. 1 priority must be to secure the border because transnational criminal organizations are smuggling weapons, money, people, drugs and contraband through Southern Arizona, said McSally, a retired Air Force colonel who was the first woman to fly in combat.

"This is a national security threat that we must take seriously," McSally said. "We need the federal will to secure the border and address the root causes at the strategic level."

The nation also needs to streamline the painful, bureaucratic, and nonsensical legal immigration process, she said, which would diminish the incentive to come here illegally.

"I don't why this is so emotional," McSally said. "This is an American issue, and we all need to work together in order to fix this. It's draining our economy, it's draining our community, and it's a threat to us."

Antenori

The state senator said he is a staunch border security proponent, touting his backing of Arizona's immigration enforcement law, SB 1070. But he said he also supports legal immigration.

He told the story of how his grandparents immigrated legally to the United States, learned English and worked hard. He said his 91-year-old grandmother was at his swearing-in ceremony to the Arizona Legislature.

"That is the American dream," Antenori said. "That is the positive side of immigration. We are the greatest country on the planet because we take the best of every culture and make it part of our own."

But, he said, the political left is trying to divide the country and make the "melting pot" into a "chunky soup."

"They want us to have divisions and hyphens between us," Antenori said. "We are America. You come here because you want to live free, you want a better life and you want to become American. If you think your culture and country is so great and you want everyone here to learn your language, you should have stayed."

The primary in this special election is April 17. The winner will face Ron Barber, the only Democrat running, in the special general election on June 12.

On StarNet: The Star hosted live online chats with CD8 candidates. Read transcripts of those chats at live.azstarnet.com

Contact reporter Brady McCombs at bmccombs@azstarnet.com or 573-4213.

CD8 Republicans find a lot to criticize on border security, illegal immigration