by Martha Rhodes

Created on: June 26, 2008

Free trade agreements, border security and immigration are all issues that are interrelated and are key issues that will decide the 2008 Presidential Election. One would think that adequate border security would have been in place before considering trade agreements or the loosening of legal immigration policies, but that has not been the case. The September 11th attack on United States soil brought to the forefront, in the minds of many Americans, the need for border security along with the realization that we have more than 12 million illegal aliens currently residing within our border that we know nothing about.

In election seasons, we hear a lot about what candidates believe but because of the very nature of politics and a candidates desire to appeal to the masses, it's often confusing for voters to determine exactly where a candidate stands on an issue. Rather than relying on the various flyers, postcards, debates, interviews, and doubletalk, it is better to look at how the candidates actually voted in Congress. You must also keep in mind that sometimes there are reasons why a representative voted for a proposed legislation and their vote appears contrary to what they have stated publicly. Questions about these contrary votes should be further investigated.

Listed below are how the candidates voted on key legislation, but first, here are excerpts from websites that were produced and paid for by the campaigns and quotes from public speeches that outlined the views of these candidates on these issues:

Barack Obama

"The time to fix our broken immigration system is now... We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace... But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America... Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should" - Statement on U.S. Senate Floor, May 23, 2007

"Create secure borders. Obama wants to preserve the integrity of our borders. He supports additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.

Improve our immigration system. Obama believes we must fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.

Remove incentives to enter illegally. Obama will remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.

Bring

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next Page >>