This column appeared in the July 10, 2006 Dodge City Globe

More than ten years ago I began my first campaign to serve you in the Senate. Starting in Dodge City, I began to walk throughout the entire district, knocking on doors and visiting with folks on their doorsteps. I was surprised by what I heard. Many were concerned about high taxes, the decline in moral values, and seemingly unstoppable growth in government. But by far, the biggest issue on the minds of voters was illegal immigration.

In response to these concerns in 1996, I quickly introduced a proposal in Topeka to designate English as the official language of our State. Seeing our common sense, every Senate Republican supported my bill. However, liberal pressure soon forced the Senate leadership to derail my proposal. They abandoned ship and quietly killed the bill in committee - not even allowing a vote. What is common sense and reasonable to everyday folks like us in southwest Kansas somehow seems radical and close-minded to those in power.

In the decade since, it seems little has changed. For in the past few months, I have heard more on this issue than any other. People are concerned about the impact of illegal immigration on our schools, our economy, our homeland security, our roads, our welfare system, our Social Security program, our culture, our language. But far too many in Washington and Topeka continue to ignore the real facts and demands of Kansans and all of Americans.

However, don't count me in that camp. During the past legislative session, I offered numerous proposals to address some of these concerns.

First, I believe that illegal aliens are straining our welfare system. However, the bureaucrats continue to claim that since illegal immigrants are ineligible for most welfare programs - they can't be overloading the system. Wrong. Forged, incomplete identification - combined with an inadequate system of verifying whether these documents are authentic - has created a potential for massive illegal welfare fraud. I proposed a reasonable system to examine and verify the papers used to qualify for welfare - thus weeding out those who are bleeding the system. Those in Topeka refused to adopt the proposal - we'll try again next year.

Second, I don't believe those who are in our country illegally shall receive driver's licenses or subsidized tuition in our higher education system. While we were able to stop the State from issuing driver's licenses, Governor Sebelius and a slim majority of the Legislature still believe in using your tax dollars to subsidize the education of those illegally in Kansas. Consequently, citizens of Oklahoma and Colorado, and yes even children of military families, for instance, pay higher tuition than fellow students who refuse to obey our laws. You spent more than $1 million last year on this subsidy.

Third, amazingly we don't even track the numbers of non-citizens in our K-12 Schools. For some reason, asking for proof of citizenship is considered discriminatory by some - even if it is used solely for informational purposes. On top of this, many of these students qualify for additional state spending because they don't know English - sometime receiving extra aid for their entire K-12 schooling. One would hope they'd master English sometime before the end of those thirteen years. Instead of limiting the English proficiency of these children by spoon-feeding them English and teaching them also in Spanish for years, I support an immersion program like is working in California to focus on teaching English to these kids for 6 months to an entire year. And after that, introduce them into a classroom. English is the language of opportunity in America - and this would seem most beneficial to these children - as well as the English-speaking kids.

These are just a few of my thoughts and ideas on illegal immigration. And of course, I don't believe illegal aliens should qualify for Social Security - and I don't support any amnesty for illegal aliens - and border and law enforcement must be our first priority in this huge issue. Rest assured though, no matter the inaction in Washington, I will continue my efforts in the Statehouse to find common sense solutions to these problems.