Immigration

As citizens, we support the rule of law, we want our laws to be enforced and we don’t like it when people get away with breaking the rules. We support legal immigration.

The federal system on immigration is a jigsaw puzzle of rules and regulations that weighs heavily on the local officials dealing with the backlash of hate and mistrust that has been created. Citizens are demanding that their local elected officials – mayors and commissioners – create a local response to a national issue. If this were done county by county, Maryland would have 24 different immigration policies! What we really need is a federal response to immigration.

My experience as Mayor gives me a unique perspective on what we can do on the local level and what needs to be done by the federal government. We cannot expect the local cops on the beat to round up 12 million illegal immigrants and if they did, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) doesn’t have the resources to process, jail and return them to their birth countries. What local law enforcement can do is what they do every day. They can create the relationships, bring people out of the shadows and encourage strong communities. They will arrest criminals and when they do, I support the immediate deportation of felons who are here illegally. It’s a realistic place to start on the local level, but the federal government has to get its act together.

Roscoe Bartlett says he wants a limited federal government. Well, there are some things you just cannot reduce and we are now paying a heavy price. Worse still, we are fighting each other because the federal government ignored its responsibilities and our borders are broken. Let’s stop fighting and fix the problem!

In Congress, I will support: