Reform candidate: States must lead the way on stopping illegal immigration
By Eric Swanson
Dodge City Daily Globe


Kansas and other states will have to take the lead in stopping illegal immigration, since the federal government is unwilling to do the job by itself, the Kansas Reform Party candidate for governor said Saturday.

ÒThe federal government, first of all, does not have the willpower or the will to do it, and they canÕt do it by themselves anyway,Ó Richard Ranzau said during an interview at Boot Hill Museum. ÒSo I think we need a real leader.Ó

Ranzau stopped at the museum as part of a campaign tour in southwest Kansas.

He said the state must adopt a multilevel approach to cracking down on illegal immigration, including:

¥ Barring the state and local governments from providing any kind of assistance to illegal immigrants.

¥ Requiring all government agencies and private businesses to use the automated Basic Pilot Employment Verification program to check their employeesÕ legal status.

¥ Making it a felony to bring illegal immigrants into the state.

¥ Fining businesses that employ illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigration has emerged as a hot-button issue in this yearÕs gubernatorial race. GOP candidate Sen. Jim Barnett has said he would take steps to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants into Kansas, such as repealing a law allowing some children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state universities and colleges.

BarnettÕs opponent, Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, has said states have a limited role in reducing illegal immigration and that Congress should pass laws to stop the problem at the border.

Ranzau said he does not think children of illegal immigrants should get tuition breaks at Kansas universities and colleges.

ÒPeople in other states who arenÕt residents of Kansas – legal citizens – they canÕt get in-state tuition,Ó he said. ÒIf their kids want to come to KU or Wichita State, they have to pay the cost or they have to get loans, et cetera. Well, this benefits their parents. Even if their children are citizens, youÕre essentially rewarding illegal behavior.Ó

Cracking down on illegal immigration is only one of the planks in RanzauÕs platform. He favors overhauling KansasÕ tax system to stimulate economic development and supports adoption of a TaxpayersÕ Bill of Rights, which would impose constitutional limits on state spending to reduce the growth of government.

Ranzau said Kansas should make its public schools more competitive by implementing a school voucher program, which allow families to choose the public or private school they want for their children and have part or all of the tuition paid.

He also supports alternatives to conventional public schools, such as home schooling and charter schools.

ÒIn any other business out there in the open marketplace, good competition fosters decreased cost and improved quality,Ó he said. ÒAnd I think the same thing would be with the education system.Ó

Ranzau spent 15 years in the U.S. Army Reserves and served in both the Gulf War in 1990 and the current war in Iraq. He is currently working as a physician assistant in an orthopedic surgery in Wichita.

He is married to Rachelle Ranzau, and they have three young children.

Ranzau has not previously run for or held elective office.

His running mate is Meade resident Ellen Verell, who joined the Reform Party in 2000 after 48 years as a Republican. Verell said she joined RanzauÕs campaign because he invited her, and because she believes in the Reform PartyÕs call for a return to constitutional principles.

She added that she thinks some parts of the United States have abandoned constitutional principles more than Kansas, but Kansas seems to be rapidly losing its grasp of those principles.

Verell said she also believes the stateÕs current tax structure is undermining its economic strength.

ÒThe state has to be solvent,Ó she said. ÒIf the state isnÕt solvent, itÕll quit doing business. And the present tax structure just will not encourage anyone to come to Kansas and start a business.Ó

Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com

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