Immigration continues to be a topic of importance for Republican voters considering their selection for who will be their party’s nominee for the 2020 U.S. Senate race in Alabama.
During an appearance on Huntsville’s WVNN on Monday, Secretary of State John Merrill, one of those Republican candidates seeking the nod, confirmed immigration was the issue he was hearing most about on the campaign trail.
However, when asked about immigration and what is being said on the campaign trail, he said that the subject goes beyond the completion of the U.S.-Mexico border wall and includes comprehensive immigration reform.
“Without a doubt,” he replied. “And you know the thing that I hear people talking about — it’s not just about building the wall, which we’re for. But it is about another part of that message that I don’t hear the other candidates talking about, and that’s about comprehensive immigration reform. I don’t know anybody that wants to provide a full path to citizenship for these individuals. But what they are looking for is a path for full employment for these people in a legal way. What we want is for those people to pay taxes and make sure they’re paying for benefits that they’re receiving instead of being net takers from our economy, be net producers for our economy. And that way, they’re going to be able to contribute more to society and help all of us because of those contributions.”
Merrill said he proposed legal employment status for some immigrants and added the difficulties lie in getting people to work that are receiving more in benefits from the social safety net by not working.
“Look Jeff — make sure you hear me when I say this: I’m not talking about legal status,” Merrill said on “The Jeff Poor Show.” “I’m talking about legal employment status. The thing that is so important and very significant — I’ve talked to eight different business leaders this morning in four meetings that we had where they have shared with me their interests in making sure we provide a pathway for legal employment for these individuals because they cannot find people to work because there are a number of people in our state who are sitting on the couch, eating potato chips and drinking a Coca-Cola or sitting on the front porch waiting for the next check to come instead of being out working and trying to make a living for their families. They can make more money sitting at the house and not doing anything but waiting for the check to come. And that’s not good because that’s not what it is about. That’s not what we should be encouraging. It is what we should be discouraging.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University, the editor of Breitbart TV and host of “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN in Huntsville.
