Carroll first brought up the issue of illegal immigration when she criticized Yates’ earlier statement that National Guard troops authorized to shoot to kill be deployed on the border with Mexico. She said that issue is not pro-life and criticized Georgia Right to Life for not pulling its endorsement of Yates over the comment. She suggested the organization might do that if a pregnant illegal alien was shot.
Yates responded by saying the United States ejected the British from its territory and fought the Axis powers during World War II overseas to keep from having to fight them in the United States.
“I am against any invasion from any place on the globe,” he said.
Carroll said there is a difference between a military invasion and illegal immigrants seeking a better life. She said most of those attempting to cross the U.S. border are not armed criminals.
She said there are laws requiring business owners to check their employees’ immigration status. She said there is a loophole exempting subcontractors from this requirement, a loophole that she said should be closed. She added that immigration is primarily a federal issue.
Yates criticized the federal government for claiming sole jurisdiction over immigration enforcement, and said the federal government is doing nothing to solve the illegal-immigration problem and then stopping those at the state level who do wish to solve the problem.
When asked about school tax exemptions for senior citizens, Carroll said having an educated population is something everyone, including senior citizens, benefits from. Yates said he would support exemptions that are “reasonable,” citing the rising cost of living.
When asked about term limits, Carroll said one-third of U.S. states have term limits. She is in favor of them because they enable people with a fresh perspective and fresh ideas to enter government. She said “citizen-legislators” are preferable to longtime incumbents who think they are entitled to their jobs.
Yates said he is against term limits. He said pensions and other incentives to stay in office should be reduced but said term limits would result in inexperienced politicians and dominance by bureaucrats.
Neither party wants to do their job because they are too busy trying to tip toe around the issue. Worried about being politically correct. How about all of you start doing the job that you took an oath to do. Protect the citizens of this country and stop illegal’s from coming into this country.
If Washington was located along the border the problem would have been taken care of a long time ago. Yet the powers in Washington want to tell the states along the border what they can and can't do in regards to illegal’s. We need government officials to be like Sheriff Joe Arpalo. He's serious about doing his job. If Washington was serious about doing their job, there would be no problem with illegal’s.