Republican presidential candidates Tim Scott and Asa Hutchinson have used appearances at the Iowa State Fair to tout widely different proposals to deal with immigration issues. Scott visited a border crossing at Yuma (YOO-muh), Arizona, earlier this month.
Scott says as president he’d declare fentanyl a public health emergency in the U-S and have Border Patrol agents turn away all migrants. In addition, Scott would restore a Trump Administration policy called “Remain in Mexico.” It means all asylum seekers would be required to wait in Mexico for the U-S court hearing on their asylum application.
Former Arkansas Governor Asa (AY-suh) Hutchinson was in charge of border security during the George W. Bush Administration. He says the U-S has to partner with Mexico’s government to go after the drug cartels.
Hutchinson is also proposing what he describes as a state-based program for work visas.
The federal government currently grants work visas to immigrants and most visas are the result of a business sponsoring a worker seeking a visa. Hutchinson says there’d still be a federal role in security screening under this proposal, but states could be a partner to determne the number of visas they need and for what occupations