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Davis, Roe take hard-line stance on illegal immigration

Published June 28th, 2008 | 3 Comments

Third in a series

Both 1st Congressional District GOP incumbent David Davis and Republican challenger Phil Roe take hard-line positions on illegal immigration.

Davis indicates he knows exactly what people are thinking on the subject.

“People in Northeast Tennessee are very generous people,” he said. “They understand if you have a guest, the guest comes and visits but always goes back home. They understand that illegal means illegal, and we have a rule of law in America, and amnesty is not an option.”

Roe, Johnson City’s mayor, is an advocate of building a fence on the U.S. southern border to keep illegals out.

“We have to have some way to control the border, whether it’s a virtual fence, an electronic fence or a real barrier,” Roe said. “The reason for that is you never solve the problem if you don’t stem the flow of illegals. A fence will work. I spent 13 months of my life (as a U.S. Army veteran) near a fence in Korea. I know it works. ... The American people want that done.”

Davis said he visited the southern border and rode with border patrol agents last January.

“Where I saw a well-maintained fence, technology in place and personnel in adequate numbers, people were not getting across the border,” Davis said. “The night I was there 95 pounds of marijuana was seized. The area I went out to where there wasn’t an adequate fence was very disturbing to me. We need a fence across the whole southern border. ... Some cuts to the fence have been in some bills I have voted against.”

During his freshman term, Davis has signed on to at least five bills targeting illegal immigration, including: legislation limiting citizenship sponsors to spouses and children of permanent resident aliens; a bill limiting citizenship to children born in the United States; a bill allowing federal officials to work with local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration laws; and a bill prohibiting states from issuing driver’s licenses or other identification documents to illegal aliens.

Davis, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the legislation with the best chance of being passed by Congress is the “SAVE Act,” which calls for border protection and providing employers with an employee verification system so that jobs are not provided to illegal aliens.

More than 150 co-sponsors have signed on to the bill. Its prime sponsor is U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C.

In his talks around the district, Roe points out that credit card technology could be used to identify aliens in a guest worker program.

“I was in Hawkins County, a farm community ... and the farmers need the workers, and they can’t find local people to do this work anymore,” Roe said. “When you have a willing worker and a willing employer, there ought to be a seamless way you can put those people together so they can get the job done. ... But people who hire illegals have to share the responsibility, too.”

Davis and Roe will square off in the Aug. 7 GOP primary.

For more about Roe go to www.roe4congress.com.

For more about Davis go to www.rightforcongress.com.

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I was told by a Kingsport Policeman, that normally works the day shift. "We can't ask the latinos if they are legal or not. So if they are committing a crime and are arrested after the crime ...my understanding is that THEN and only THEN can they be questioned whether or not they are legally here in the USA. Did I misunderstand?
So when a drug deal goes down, which can happen in a second and it is reported in a certain area ...say Highland. The police do not see that drug deal "go down." However, others did. They are afraid to say anything because they are afraid that their house will be burned down, etc. What's wrong with this picture? I know it's a free country, however, a person can't yell fire in a theater. There need to be boundries. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck. Usually, it's a duck. At the very least check their drivers license.

| 7/2/2008 - 1:08 PM - ( Comment

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Requiring a national id card, which is what we really mean when we say "mandatory credit card like identification" isn't a bad idea over all, but these cards can become lost. What is really needed to accomplish this agenda is to require everyone be tattooed with a Patriot Mark on the forehead or on the hand at birth, or when anyone enters this country. Then, we will know that anyone who doesn't have a Patriot Mark doesn't belong here.

Jeremiah Jones | 6/28/2008 - 10:23 PM - ( Comment

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If it's something to do with enforcing our immigration laws, the special interest lobby will crawl out of their holes to stop its enactment. Just like the SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) a Federal bill, the laggard Democrats don't want voted into law. Rep.Cannon of Utah, lost his bid as an incumbent mainly because he pandered to the pro-open-borders special interest lobby. Davis, Roe take hard-line stance on illegal immigration, so that better remain their view, as they it will be devastating to their future plans if they renege on their platform. Davis is doing a good job, by promoting the Federal SAVE ACT (H.R.4088).
Under this strictly enforcement law predatory employers would be arrested, fined and possibly imprisoned and millions of illegal aliens would leave of their own accord. It would give (ICE) more funding and build the US border patrol up to 20.000 more agents in strength, build the fence as originally intended. This national law would also begin to remove criminal aliens from our society. It would give extra teeth to all immigration laws now on the books. Demand the anti--illegal immigration SAVE ACT! (2022243121 ) Unsuppressed details at NUMBERSUSA.

Dave Francis | 6/28/2008 - 9:55 PM - ( Comment

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