Tom Rice: “Americans pay the price for our failure to secure our southern border in many, many ways. Our failure to control our…”

“Americans pay the price for our failure to secure our southern border in many, many ways. Our failure to control our southern border is a national disgrace. Some of the ways Americans pay for our failure is through illegal immigration, reduced wages from illegal immigration, drugs, violent crime, human trafficking, gangs, abuse of our welfare system, and potential terrorism. There are too many to explore here, but I want to focus on just a few of the larger problems. One is illegal immigration. First, I want to say I am not anti-immigration. I am anti-illegal immigration. You have to understand that, as a sovereign country, we have the right to decide who and how many people are allowed to become citizens of our country. And we are a very, very generous nation. Don't let anybody tell you that, because we are against illegal immigration, we are not a generous nation. We accept 1.1 million legal immigrants per year. That is almost twice as much as the next highest country--1.1 million legal immigrants per year. Now, we can talk about that number--is it too high, too low--but that is what the law allows. Most countries use their immigration system to make themselves more competitive, and that is what I am all about: make America great again, make the United States competitive again. You see, a competitive economy makes America the land of opportunity, and I am all about opportunity for my children and grandchildren and your children and grandchildren.…”