Ohio Valley Politics

Rep. Zack Space held his second Renew Ohio work group today, and this time the topic was agriculture. The event took place in Coshocton and was lead by Adam Sharp from the Ohio Farm Bureau.

“We have a long and distinguished agricultural heritage in our region, and I am confident that this industry will continue to play a vital role in our economic future. We must continue to find new and innovative ways to expand this staple of our economy.”

“In the United States today, we enjoy the safest, cheapest, most abundant food supply of anywhere in the world, and we owe that to the hard work of our agricultural producers. The ideas generated today will help ensure we are able to expand this necessary industry as we find ways to create jobs for our region.”

– Rep. Zack Space

Space also sent out a column to area newspapers about his view on illegal immigration. You can find it after the jump.

As many of you will remember, I traveled to the US-Mexico border last year to inspect the state of our border security and what I found was shocking. I knew from reports that the border offered little resistance to a determined illegal immigrant, but only after I saw the border first hand did I fully understand how bad things are. The brave men and women who patrol that border must be commended for what they do. Unfortunately, they are not able to do it all.

I returned with some specific plans to alleviate this problem. I signed on to legislation that I felt would go a long way in combating this crisis. This bill, The Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act of 2007 (H.R. 4088), would take care of a number of problems we currently face.

First and foremost, we cannot stem the tide of illegal immigrants coming into this county if we do not make significant investments in the security of our border. The SAVE Act will provide 8,000 new Border Patrol agents – reinforcements for the front line of this fight.

Secondly, this bill will diminish the pull that draws many here by greatly reducing the job opportunities that are available for illegal workers. This bill makes mandatory a program of worker verification that is currently voluntary. By utilizing the E-Verify system, employers will be able to quickly prove that the information being provided by a potential worker is accurate. This bill will crack down on fraud and mandate that employers use this system.

Finally, the SAVE Act will dramatically step up interior enforcement to help deal with those who have already broken the law to get here. It increases the capacity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by providing more agents, as well as providing additional training for local and state law enforcement. The SAVE Act will also increase detention capacity and expedite the deportation process.

A number of my colleagues and I are tired of waiting for this vital piece of legislation to come up for a vote. That is why we are demanding that House leadership address this issue and give us an up-or-down vote on the bill. It is my hope that our pressure will bring the SAVE Act up for a vote as quickly as possible so we can begin to deal with this crisis.

Congressman Zack Space