Matt Salmon: “let us get down to brass tacks. What is this debate really about? There are those of us that really want to solve…”

“let us get down to brass tacks. What is this debate really about? There are those of us that really want to solve illegal immigration problems, and there are those that would like to keep it watered down and make sure that we do not have the resources to deal with illegal aliens. They would rather put their head in the sand than confront this vital issue to America. We have been passing the costs on for illegal immigration down to State and local governments for years and years and years through our Federal mandates in requiring that certain services be provided for illegal aliens. Now that they have an opportunity to help us to get our hands, our arms around the problem, they want to say no. We are not mandating on to the States or the local community. We are simply giving them the opportunity. Mr. Chairman, what this gets down to is that the other side would rather put its confidence in the Federal arm of law enforcement rather than the local arm, because they do not have confidence in the local arm of law enforcement. They believe that they are incompetent, that they cannot get the job done. We believe that local governments do a much more effective job. We would rather have them than those that brought us Ruby Ridge and Waco handling these types of affairs rather than the Federal Government ultimately. I think it would be a good idea.”