Here’s the latest conservative idea on how to secure the southwestern border: track all people entering the U.S. the way FedEx stays on top of all its packages.
During a debate Thursday between candidates vying for an open congressional seat in northern Virginia, Republican state Del. Barbara Comstock said there was a right way to crack down on illegal immigration.
“Immigration needs to be done by legislation, not executive order,” Comstock said Wednesday. “First and foremost, we need to stop playing politics with this, secure the borders and do it. We know how to do it.”
“Fed-Ex can track packages coming in here all of the time, we can track people who are coming into the country and we can do that right,” she added.
Comstock’s comments build on rallying cries from top Republicans who have warned in recent weeks that the U.S.’s “porous” borders pose a potential threat to national security. Some have even said that lax security at both U.S. borders has already made the nation vulnerable to militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), assertions that administration officials and national security analysts have readily shot down.
The race for Virginia’s 10th congressional district would replace Rep. Frank Wolf, a Republican who is retiring after having served for three decades in Congress. Comstock is running against Democrat Fairfax County supervisor John Foust.
Amanda Sakuma