Governor Owens pens an opinion piece on the subject of Immigration [Rocky Mountain News, December 24, 2005, "Gov. Owens: A plan for workers"]. He writes, "As the debate over illegal immigration escalates, one thing is clear: Working alone, government will not be able to provide secure borders and create an effective guest-worker program that helps drive the nation's economy.
First and foremost, no guest-worker program will be successful without secure borders. If workers continue to cross the border illegally and are paid in cash by unscrupulous employers, a guest-worker program will have little or no impact. Further, without secure borders, criminals and drug traffickers will continue to invade American soil.
"To effectively address these issues, we must first acknowledge there are two distinct groups of immigrants: Those who want to earn a better wage than they are able to in their own country but have no desire for citizenship and those who sincerely desire citizenship.
"You may be asking what stake an interior state such as Colorado has in this debate. What once was a concern primarily for border states has moved center stage. The illegal population in the U.S. is now estimated at between 10 million and 15 million.
"And consider this: Colorado leads the nation in the growth rate of illegal residents, now numbering more than 250,000. In fact, half of all foreign-born residents in Colorado are here in violation of the law. The inescapable fact is that illegal residents are a huge drain on state and local resources, especially in the areas of education and health care.
"The Colorado-based V.K. Krieble Foundation has developed a private-sector, free-market plan that gains my endorsement - as well as the endorsement of such political heavyweights as FreedomWorks and the Heritage Foundation. The plan stands above others currently being considered because it effectively addresses border security concerns while also recognizing the real need for guest workers..."
"By separating guest workers from those seeking citizenship, the federal government would be able to focus more of its resources on border security. And creating an effective and efficient guest-worker program provides a real incentive for potential workers to participate. It would be less costly - and considerably safer - than using the services of so-called "coyotes" to illegally sneak into the country.
There are other benefits as well. Currently, illegal immigrants working in the U.S. are paying into Social Security but have no chance - because of their illegal status - of ever receiving Social Security payments. Under our plan, guest workers would instead pay into a health-care fund from which they would derive benefits."
Read the whole article before is scrolls behind the Rocky paywall.
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
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