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Published Thursday, January 5, 2006

Putnam, Brown-Waite Take on Issues of Those in U.S. Illegally

By Diane Lacey Allen & Bill Rufty
& BILL RUFTY

LAKELAND -- The United States' borders should be sealed and illegal immigration stopped. But the illegal aliens already here should not be considered felons, U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam said Wednesday.

Speaking to the Lakeland Republican Club luncheon, Putnam said a provision in the U.S. House's immigration reform bill making illegal immigrants' presence in the United States a felony won't make it through the entire Congress. And it shouldn't, he added.

"It is bad policy to think you should put a hotel maid in prison next to drug kingpins," he said.

Putnam said he supports the overall bill on tightening borders. And he's been at the forefront of supporting extension of the Patriot Act. But Putnam said there has to be a better way to discourage illegal immigration than by jailing all of the estimated 11 million undocumented aliens in the United States.

In an interview following his speech, Putnam also disagreed with another move by some members of Congress to stop granting citizenship to children born in this country to illegal immigrants.

"The 14th Amendment (of the U.S. Constitution) is clear: if you are born in the United States, you are a citizen," Putnam said.

"If you look at the demographics of this nation, there are not enough raw numbers to fill the jobs -- not to mention jobs that people here don't want to do," he said.

"What we have to work out is a path to earn citizenship. The guest worker program is a start. We have to create a path that will involve some penalty for being here illegally and put them in back of the line (for citizenship) instead of the front of the line," Putnam said.

"Then, over a period of time, they can earn legal status as taxpaying members of society," he said.

That doesn't mean that nothing should be done, but there are alternatives.

"A lot of expectant mothers cross the border to have their children (in the United States) to give them a better life and a future. As long as that exists, it will continue to be a rational decision on their part. A lot of things other than barring citizenship can be done," he said.

If mothers have better opportunities in their home countries, and if the borders are sealed tighter, the situation will change, Putnam said.

He also called for common sense in dealing with the realities of illegal immigration.

Putnam used a hypothetical case, which he said he drew from a number of such cases across the nation.

"Let's say there is a 17-year-old girl who was brought here from Mexico at the age of 3 months. She has lived here all her life. She graduated from, say, Frostproof High School and wants to go to college. But if she applies, she could be deported," Putnam said.

"Polk County is the only home she knows. This is her world. Do you send her to some place she doesn't even remember?" he asked. "This happens constantly in the nation, and it certainly isn't the kids' fault."

In an earlier interview, Putnam's colleague, U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, a Brooksville Republican, differed somewhat on the details of immigration reform. She said she might support taking away the citizenship-by-birth guarantee. But it would be a difficult decision.

"This is one of those difficult issues," said Brown-Waite. "The child doesn't decide where they're going to be born. You also have the phenomena of people coming to this country, specifically to this country, to have that anchor to gain access to the country."

Brown-Waite said she could see both sides and would struggle with a bill that involved changing the current policy of citizenship for babies born to illegal immigrants.

"If I had to vote tonight, again, I would listen to both sides. But I probably would err on the side of not allowing automatic citizenship because what it has become is the magnet that attracts the aunts, uncles, grandparents and other siblings here," Brown-Waite said. "Many of them also come here illegally."

She said she does see the need for a guest worker program for those illegal aliens who are contributing to the American economy.

"I'll tell you what won't sell very well in Polk County, or any of my other counties, is amnesty," Brown-Waite said. "Amnesty is a non-starter."

Brown-Waite said, the last time an amnesty program was used, it did nothing to stem the tide of illegal aliens.

Although Brown-Waite admits illegals do work that most Americans won't do, she does not want immigrants illegally in this country gaining quicker access to citizenship.

She says moving them ahead in line would reward those who have broken the law to get here.

"We're not forcing people to come here," Brown-Waite said. "They obviously came into this country freely. They can leave the country. It's not indentured servitude."