Border Studies

“In any situation, […] things often come down to an issue of emphasis,” Representative J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) explained to the audience at Accuracy in Academia’s Immigration Forum. Congressman Hayworth had used the example of what he called “The Listener Acuity Test,” where he recited a word problem twice. He recited it a third time, placing the verbal emphasis on the key phrases.

Rep. Hayworth serves the 5th District of Arizona and is also the author of Whatever It Takes, in which he gives opinion on solving the issue of illegal immigration.

He told the audience that it was the constitutional responsibility of Congress to protect the borders. He cited Section 4 of Article 4 in the U.S. Constitution.

The section reads, “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.”

“We are failing a crucial test,” Rep. Hayworth said. He noted the statistic of for every one illegal immigrant caught crossing the border, another two make it. In Arizona alone, he noted, 6,000 illegal aliens cross the border every night and two-thirds of them stay across on this side of the U. S. checkpoint.

He later discussed how Oregon has created new anti-discriminatory laws that prohibit people from asking about a person’s immigration status, especially when it is in regards to the person’s eligibility to vote. Oregon is also the only state that votes entirely by mail. These two things alone create problems with voter fraud and homeland security.

Rep. Hayworth spoke of how members of terrorist cells are crossing U. S. borders by “adopting Hispanic surnames.” He also spoke about the terrorist cells in Canada and how they have worked with students at Georgia Tech and North Carolina State. He was reminded when he was a student at North Carolina State how he and his peers thought the biggest threat to America was “not from the Soviet Union, but terrorists due to the proliferation of nuclear arms.”

Rep. Hayworth also spoke out against those who say that illegal immigrants serve this country as “cheap labor.” “The labor is not cheap when you and I pay for it,” he opined.

According to Rep. Hayworth, there are more than about 20 million illegal immigrants in this country or a population about the “size of New York state,” and the number continues to grow. “The first question is how do we protect the American People?” Congressman Hayworth asked. He believes that we must “reaffirm that borders are reasonable and reinforced.” Congressman Hayworth pushed for the idea of “Enforcement first.”

He told the audience that he was “not to be a rubber stamp for any administration,” and that while he and President Bush agree on some policies, immigration is not one of them. “Mr. President, you are wrong.”

“Washington has been slow to deal with this problem,” Rep. Hayworth admitted, “but the people have spoken.” He spoke to a crowd consisting of many students at the AIA Conservative University forum, which, in turn, was packed Standing Room Only.

The Voice of America recorded the congressman’s remarks, which were delivered to an audience of more than 80 students, journalists, Capitol Hill staffers and public policy experts.

Matthew Murphy is an intern at Accuracy in Academia.