Tancredo keeps campaign focused on immigration problems
By JOSH ROSENSON
jrosenson@fosters.com
Article Date: Tuesday, December 4, 2007

DOVER — Congressman Tom Tancredo recognizes he is a second-tier candidate, knows he lacks the exposure and financial resources of some of the other candidates and even acknowledged himself as a "long shot," adding no one has won the presidency from the House of Representatives since Grover Cleveland.

So why is Tancredo running? The Republican Colorado congressman told members of a Foster's editorial board that he decided to run because, while he was a part of "Team America," a political action committee he founded, they were looking for a candidate who would focus on immigration.

"It was, frankly, hard to find anybody that would focus on especially the issue of immigration. We just could not get anybody," Tancredo said. "The immigration issue is one of the most serious domestic policy problems that has enormous ramifications. It affects everybody now, in every state."

Tancredo said he joined the race to help raise the issue of immigration to his fellow Republicans and push it across the aisle as well. He has consistently opposed amnesty bills put forth by Sens. John McCain and Ted Kennedy.

"I think it's had an enormous effect on the economy," Tancredo said.

In addition to securing the nation's borders, he feels a key component in deterring immigrants is to eliminate the job magnet. He does not share the beliefs of those who think immigrants come into the United State to do the jobs Americans won't, and he says the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, and the Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, "kind of conspire to keep the borders open."

He said he isn't against free trade, but is concerned with trucks being allowed to pass the Mexican border into America without being subject to investigation in accordance with the trade agreements.

The congressman supports work visas for immigrants to come work in the agricultural industry, but expressed concern these visas have no time limitations.

He said he visits borders north and south and the flow of illegal immigration can be reduced by fences, sensors and military personnel. Tancredo was witness to a project on the Canadian border where 100 Marines patrolled 100 miles and, in concert with technology, were even able to identify animals, such as deer, trying to cross the border.

Tancredo does not think many more laws need to be passed to address immigration, but the laws in place need to be better enforced. He says he would put most of the responsibility on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

"We can secure the border — we choose not to," he said. "The days are long gone where we can simply let people come into this country."

Tancredo called immigration "a huge, huge phenomenon. It has lots and lots of tentacles."

He said illegal immigration is not only damaging to wage rates, but the problem encompasses national security, the war on terror and the identity of the country.

His call to reduce legal immigration to 250,000 people a year will also help newcomers to assimilate, he said, adding he does not want to stop immigrants from celebrating their ethnic backgrounds but his main issue is with language.

"When you come here I expect you will learn the language," he said. Tancredo would push to put an end to bilingual education and remove documents from schools that are not in English. He said to "put all the emphasis we can on speaking English" helps identify America as a country.

Tancredo also said the reduction in illegal immigration will aid in national security and many radicals who pose threats to national security have come into the U.S. clandestinely over borders and even having visas.

"I don't believe it's a war in Iraq," he said. "It is a battle."

Tancredo said the war in Iraq is against Islamic radicals and thinks the U.S. needs to disengage as a police force but remain as presence. Tancredo does not think the next president will have much influence over Iraq and the U.S. will remain there for a long time.

"Foreign policy is a kaleidoscope, and someone is constantly moving the lens," he said, referring to U.S. presence around the globe.

Tancredo then tackled a subject unrelated to immigration — health care.

He thinks market forces should determine health care and there should be less government involvement. He does not think a person's health care should be related to his or her employer but a separate entity, similar to life insurance or car insurance. One idea he has is for organizations such as the YMCA to offer insurance plans.

Concerning eligibility and availability of health care, Tancredo believes in a pre-tax health savings account. As a self-proclaimed "strict constructionist," he sees nothing in the Constitution concerning the federal government in the areas of education or health care. Tancredo does support people's right to purchase pharmaceuticals from Canada, because that addition will also affect market forces in the U.S.

Despite being frequently portrayed as a one-issue candidate, Tancredo claims he will look at all issues, and despite trailing several other Republican candidates by a large margin in all polls, including in his home state, he has kept his sense of humor, joking about being a bookend at debates.

Still, he is firm in his stances and hopes his addressing of immigration issues will resonate through the rest of the field.
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