2012 Missouri Senate Debates: on Immigration


Todd Akin: Illegal immigrants receiving benefits is unacceptable

The recent announcement that DHS will stop deporting and begin giving work permits to illegal immigrants who came to the US as children has again sparked a larger debate about immigration.

The idea of illegal immigrants receiving federal benefits like food stamps or Social Security is unacceptable to most Americans. We welcome legal immigrants who can contribute to these programs and in turn can receive benefits. But if you have not paid into the programs, and you are not legally in this country, you should not be allowed to receive benefits.

Not surprisingly, it is illegal already for illegal immigrants to receive federal benefits. Since the rule of law is under assault by the Obama administration, particularly when it comes to immigration, it is unlikely DHS would even start checking immigration status on their own initiative. That is why I recently introduced the VERIFI Act, which would require an individual's immigration status to be checked before receiving any benefits.

Source: Todd Akin in Kansas City Star; 2012 Missouri Senate debate Jun 26, 2012

John Brunner: Citizenship for veterans; but not for college grads

On immigration policy, Steelman and Akin both said they didn't support a proposal to allow citizenship for people who served in the US military or earned a college diploma.

Brunner said he would support allowing citizenship for immigrants who serve in the US military because of their service. But for immigrants who only get a college degree "they need to go follow the laws and get to the back of the line."

Source: Columbia Daily Tribune on 2012 Missouri Senate debate Apr 22, 2012

Sarah Steelman: Take away all the incentives that are attracting illegals

On immigration policy, Steelman and Akin both said they didn't support a proposal to allow citizenship for people who served in the US military or earned a college diploma. "I believe we've got to take away all the incentives that are attracting the illegals to begin with," Steelman said.

Brunner said he would support allowing citizenship for immigrants who serve in the US military because of their service. But for immigrants who only get a college degree "they need to go to the back of the line."

Source: Columbia Daily Tribune on 2012 Missouri Senate debate Apr 22, 2012

  • The above quotations are from 2012 Missouri Senate Debate.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Immigration.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Todd Akin on Immigration.
  • Click here for more quotes by Sarah Steelman on Immigration.
Candidates and political leaders on Immigration:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R)
Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)
Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018