http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=22448

Little common ground on immigration immigration
The candidates vying for 9th Congressional District seat weigh in.
By ROBYN CORRELL and DWAYNE MAMO

October 25, 2006


Across the country, immigration has emerged as a hot topic this election season, including in mid-Missouri.

An estimated 9 million of the 33 million foreign nationals living in the U.S. are here illegally, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

The four candidates vying for Missouri’s 9th Congressional District seat agree that illegal immigration is a problem. Where Republican incumbent Kenny Hulshof, Democrat Duane Burghard, Progressive Party candidate Bill Hastings and Libertarian Steven Hedrick differ is how to deal with the increasing numbers of illegal immigrants.

“There is no silver bullet for this particular problem,” Hulshof said.

But, he said, protecting our borders should be a priority. During his time in Congress, Hulshof voted to improve coordination among the federal agencies in charge of border security as well as to improve their infrastructures, and to increase the number of agents patrolling the U.S. borders.

Burghard said that despite the increased border patrol, the number of illegal immigrants continues to rise and proposed that the government should more effectively enforce the laws currently in place.

Burghard said the Bush adminis*tra*tion has been remiss regarding im*mi*gration policy. He cited a CNN.com editorial that found the Clinton administration had fined an average of 698 employers annually for hiring illegal workers, compared with fewer than 80 on average annu*ally under the Bush administration.

“We need to find out why they’re doing worse with so much more,” Burghard said.

Hastings agrees punishment should be strictly enforced but said the government needs to pay attention to the reason illegal immigrants are coming to the U.S. He said immigrants are coming because of problems in their home nations and suggested that the government needs to institute what he called “a Marshall Plan for the Americas.” The original Marshall Plan provided economic aid to help rebuild Europe after World War II.

“We need to give hope to Latin America so people will stay (there),” Hastings said.

Hedrick took a hard line on illegal immigration and called for an electrified fence along the southern border of the U.S.

“If they’re not over here to live like us, they just come over to use our benefits,” he said. “We might as well send them back.”

Hastings, meanwhile, advocates grant*ing amnesty to employers and illegal immigrants to protect both groups from punishment while they adjust to new immigration policies. Those not complying with the regulations after amnesty ends would face strict punishment.

Hulshof, however, argues that amnesty would reward illegal activity.

Instead, he calls for programs that would help employers identify legal workers and would institute new penalties for those who don’t follow the law.

Burghard also advocates policies to identify illegal workers — whether they enter the country illegally or overstay their visas — and stiff fines for employers who hire them.

“We need fines with teeth,” Burghard said. “We need fines that will hurt the man.”