Rand Paul on Immigration: In His Own Words

Rand Paul offered his overall view on the task of taking on immigration reform in his first column for the Washington Times. It is unlikely to satisfy anyone reading it, but at least it provides a look at his thinking process and what he would do about if he is ever voted in to the highest office in the land.

Here's what Paul said on the terms he sees as needed before "normalizing the status of 11 million undocumented citizens."

Border Security, including drones, satellite, and physical barriers, vigilant deportation of criminals and increased patrols would begin immediately and be assessed at the end of one year by an investigator general from the General Accountability Office.  Most importantly, and in contrast with any other plan out there, my plan will insist that report be presented to Congress for a vote.  If, and only if Congress agreed that border security was progressing, then more reforms would ensue. If we can’t secure our border, and if we cannot prove we can modernize our system of issuing and tracking visas, we cannot take on the task of adding more people to our system.

 

After ensuring border security, then I would normalize the status of the 11 million undocumented citizens so they can join the workforce and pay taxes.  I would normalize them at a rate of about 2 million per year.   I would start with Dream Act kids, children brought here illegally as minors.  Normalization would get them a temporary Visa but would not put them ahead of anyone already waiting to enter the country.  These undocumented persons would now be documented but they would still have to wait in line like everyone else. But their path to permanent legal status would be no faster than those currently waiting in line.

For those opposing the idea of his apparent approval of amnesty for illegal immigrants, Paul said currently there is already de facto amnesty in place, so providing a legal framework for what is already happening makes the most sense.