Rep. Joe Carr Sends “Open Letter” to Senators Alexander and Corker

Press Release, June 11, 2013 - Representative Joe Carr delivered an open letter to Senators Alexander and Corker urging them to oppose the “Gang of 8” amnesty legislation up for debate in the US Senate. The letter, signed by Carr, the Nashville Tea Party, Tennessee Republican Assembly and 40 other Republican lawmakers and conservative leaders cited the legislation’s devastating financial burden on American taxpayers, the provisions expanding government bureaucracy and regulations and the failure of the federal government to secure the border and enforce existing immigration laws.

Carr, an expert on immigration policy who led the successful fight to reform Tennessee’s illegal immigration laws in 2011, argued that the Schumer-Rubio plan undermines existing US laws and does nothing to curb illegal immigration. “I am an ardent advocate of legal immigration. Immigration positively impacts our country and makes us a stronger, more vibrant nation. Illegal immigration does just the exact opposite. It has put a tremendous strain on our healthcare providers, reduced the number of jobs available to law-abiding citizens and created a culture of dependency on government. The Gang of 8 amnesty bill will only exacerbate the problems endemic to our broken immigration system,” Carr added.
Carr’s persistent leadership resulted in Tennessee passing some of the toughest illegal immigration laws in the country. His e-verify legislation, passing the House 96-0, ensures the integrity of Tennessee’s workforce. He also pushed through legislation requiring anyone seeking public benefits to prove they are in the country legally.

Carr stated the solution to national immigration reform begins with securing the border and enforcing existing laws. “The Obama administration, the previous administration and Congress have all collectively failed to secure the border. The American people are understandably skeptical that immigration reform will occur under this administration and Democratic controlled Senate. They understand that it makes absolutely no sense for lawmakers to craft an overly complex, Obamacare-style immigration bill while we don’t even enforce existing laws on the books,” he said.

“The American people have a crisis of confidence in the federal government. We’re urging Senators Alexander and Corker to lead on immigration reform by rejecting the Rubio-Schumer amnesty bill and demand Congress fulfill its Constitutional duty to secure the borders. Our leaders in Congress swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, but that oath is being violated. Everything else is really tertiary. Only after our leaders resolve to respect the Constitution and the rule of law, will we regain the trust of the American people and have the moral foundation in place to reform our immigration system,” Carr said.