Ben, we already have immigration law, we need enforcement not reform. Carson also wasn’t heckled by illegal immigration advocates.
Dr. Ben Carson pushed for stricter immigration laws based on “common sense” during a speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit Saturday, making little mention of the 2016 race that many conservatives hope he will enter in the coming months. The popular neurosurgeon advocated criminal punishments for employers who hire illegal immigrants, claiming such policies would “reverse the polarity” of the “magnet” that attracts people to the U.S. in the first place. “We don’t have the will to seal the border,” Carson said of the government’s seeming reluctance to step up security resources for border patrol. Carson advised “whoever wins in 2016” to “make it their goal to seal the border within a year.” To combat the economic strain of an immigration influx, Carson suggested employers “shouldn’t offer jobs unless Americans won’t take them.” He also said those applying for work permits should only be allowed to do so from outside the U.S. In a speech marked by specific policy prescriptions not typical of a campaign address, Carson briefly touched on his own humble upbringing and the strong foundation his mother, whom he often references in his talks, gave him growing up. “I’m certain that if my mother was secretary of the Treasury, we would not have this deficit problem right now,” he joked.