Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz called for a piecemeal approach to immigration reform while speaking at the Hinckley Institute of Politics today. He says if you want to solve the overall problem you have to start by fixing legal immigration.
“You never ever solve this problem unless you fix legal immigration," he says. "I don’t care how big, far, wide your fence is, if you don’t fix legal immigration you never solve the problem.”
Chaffetz spent parts of last week with border patrol and immigration officials on the Arizona – Mexico border. He says there’s a disconnect between what is actually happening at the borders and what Congress focuses on in Washington D.C.
“You know you hear a lot of people say, ‘We need to secure the border,’" he says. "Alright, OK. We can get everyone to nod their heads say, ‘Yeah, we need to secure the border.’ What does that mean? How do you gauge it? What are the metrics?”
Chaffetz says if there is a comprehensive immigration bill put forward, he expects it would not loosen visa restrictions until operational border control is achieved.
You can listen to all of his remarks at the Hinckley Institute of Politics here: Washington Update Congressman Jason Chaffetz
