Immigration & the Border
The border is physically secure, but our communities are not safe
I believe in treating people with dignity simply because it is the right thing to do. I believe that strict enforcement does not require cruelty. We must be unyielding against criminals who threaten our safety but we can treat peaceful and hardworking families with decency. We can validate and vet people without destroying their lives.
We can have a secure border and a humane process but it requires immigration reform. By maintaining security, we protect the rule of law. By treating people with dignity, we protect our national soul.
MAINTAINING SECURITY
We have established a sealed border, but we cannot rely on brute force forever. We need a sustainable architecture that respects both our values and our budget.
We must transition from expensive manpower to advanced technology: ground sensors, aerial monitoring and automated processing. The goal is to know who and what is crossing instantly so border agents can intercept.
DIGNITY & ORDER
We need immigration reform. We must provide a legal path to those who have been here for years, contingent on a rigorous background check. Criminals and drains on society must leave, but hard-working, productive members are incentivized to come forward. It opens the door to better jobs, higher wages and a life without fear.
This approach restores the partnership between local police and federal agents. When federal resources focus on violent threats rather than peaceful families, the wall of distrust comes down. If law-abiding people feel safe cooperating with police, our entire community becomes safer.
AMERICAN COMPETIVENESS
We are educating the world's best and brightest only to force them to return home to compete against us. That is economic suicide. We must prioritize American wages while aggressively recruiting global talent.
If you earn an advanced technical degree from a U.S. university, or if you want to launch a startup that hires American workers, we should roll out the red carpet, not the red tape. We must make it easier for high performing foreign graduates to obtain legal status. We must ensure the next generation of technology is built here, not abroad.