Emerson calls for tougher line on illegals

The United States needs strong enforcement of border controls and a crackdown on employers to curb illegal immigration, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said Wednesday.

The six-term Republican from Cape Girardeau also called for a roundup of all illegal immigrants so they can be returned to their home countries and for broader powers for local police to track down illegals.

In a telephone conference call with reporters from the 8th Congressional District, the Cape Girardeau Republican denounced the immigration overhaul measure pending before the U.S. Senate. "This is a deeply flawed bill, and I am not voting for anything like this when it comes to the House," she said.

The way the bill deals with illegal immigrants already in the United States is tantamount to amnesty for lawbreakers, she said.

There are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, Emerson said. That number may be low, she added, noting that some estimates have put the number at 15 million to 20 million. The bill pending in the U.S. Senate would create paths to citizenship for many of those illegals, requiring some to return home for a short time and opening up a new guest worker program that would bring up to 400,000 immigrants to this country each year. "They are calling it a compromise," Emerson said. "I don't know what you would call it."

Constituents obviously consider immigration a priority issue, she said. "If I have counted all the mail on any single issue over the last 11 years, this is the most prolifically written-about issue, and it is one I am very concerned about."

Instead of revamping immigration rules, Emerson said the nation should turn to a strong effort to enforce current laws.

A part of that effort, she said, would be an attempt to find and send home illegal immigrants. "We have a manageable number we could round up in our district," she said. "They are in fact taking jobs that folks in our district could take. We are trying to stop illegal immigration."

Emerson could not, however, provide an estimate of the number of illegal immigrants living in the 8th District.

Another step to better enforce current laws would be to take restraints off local law enforcement officers. That would allow local police and sheriffs to investigate whether individuals in their community are in the United States legally.

"Only when the alleged illegal has violated the law are they allowed to ask those questions," Emerson said. "That is kind of crazy."

The border security provisions of the bill, Emerson said, "are half-baked at best."

The bill calls for adding 18,000 new border security agents, but to cut the length of the border fence between Mexico and the United States from 700 miles to 370 miles.

The ideas for rounding up illegal immigrants and giving local police more authority aren't new and neither would be as simple to achieve as they sound, said Tim Rothert, legal director for the Eastern Missouri chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"It is not a matter of picking them up and sending them home," he said. "Everyone would be entitled to a hearing."

And local law enforcement agencies have generally resisted taking on responsibilities to enforce immigration laws, Rothert said. "The problem with federal immigration law is that it is very complicated and it is not as simple as someone being legal or illegal. It would be a large undertaking for local law enforcement and take a lot of time and resources away from their other resources."

The ACLU hasn't taken a stand on the legislation pending in the Senate, Rothert said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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