AP describes Conway's pro-amnesty position as 'getting tough' on illegal immigration [Archive]

sailingaway

10-08-2010, 01:13 PM

He gave a more detailed answer to his questionaire to the daily kos: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/14/856709/-Orange-to-Blue:-Jack-Conway,-KY-Sen

"4) Do you agree that any immigration reform bill should:

a) Contain a meaningful path to citizenship - one that does not include overly-punitive fines or a touchback requirement - for law-abiding undocumented immigrants currently in the United States;

b) Ensure that expanded legal permanent immigration, rather than expansion of temporary worker programs, serves as the United States' primary external answer to workforce shortages; and

c) Ensure that any non-agricultural temporary worker programs maintain current caps on the total number of non-agricultural temporary worker visas issued, and also include a meaningful prevailing wage requirement keyed to the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act?

The first step to fixing our broken immigration system is to devote more resources to enforcement. For too long the federal government has turned its back on the border, turned a blind eye to businesses hiring illegal immigrants, and left cash-strapped state and local law enforcement agencies with the bill.

Increased enforcement and border protection will prevent additional undocumented aliens from entering the country, but it won’t solve all of the challenges posed by over 11 million undocumented aliens who are already
living and working here in the United States. To address this reality, we need immigration reform that is tough, fair, and practical.

I believe that undocumented workers who want to emerge from the shadows of the underground economy and participate in American life as legal residents should be able to eventually become citizens. But in order to preserve the rule of law, undocumented workers should go to the back of the line before they are put on a path to citizenship.

Moving forward we need to build an immigration system that supports legal employment and fair competition. With official unemployment over 10% in Kentucky and nationwide right now we need a level playing field for workers based on prevailing wage requirements and standard workplace safety rules."