[House] Majority whip calls for immigration system 'that actually works'

Article subtitle: 
Sees ways for Republicans to work toward legal status for the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants [illegal aliens]
Article author: 
Matthew Fleming
Article publisher: 
Orange County Register-Washington Bureau
Article date: 
6 August 2013
Article category: 
National News
Medium
Article Body: 
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy said in an interview Monday that he sees ways for Republicans to work toward legal status for the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants, but cautioned that border security must come first.
 
McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, is scheduled to speak Tuesday in Newport Beach at an event hosted by the Pacific Research Institute, a 32-year-old free-market think tank based in San Francisco.
 
Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., listen to House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy,
R-Bakersfield, during a brief news conference last week in Washington. McCarthy is speaking Tuesday in Newport Beach.
 
"We have moved five different [immigration] bills out of the [House Judiciary] committee, but we haven't set a policy and said 'this is where we're going,'" McCarthy said of the overall legislation. The House bills so far address enforcement measures and specific visas, but not a way to bring undocumented immigrants into the system.
 
"We're educating engineers and then they leave the country – bad decision," McCarthy said. "We have a visa program where 42 percent of those that are here illegally came here legally. We've got to have a guest workers program that allows us to produce and stay competitive. If you're looking at the children who came here underage, I think we can deal with that. A legal status is a stronger position for individuals; it helps them pay their taxes and be able to produce. But we must solve the border issue first," he said ....
 
...McCarthy also plays a key role in recruiting and funding GOP candidates. In 2012, he handed out about $2.6 million from all his fundraising sources to nearly 200 Republican candidates and to the Republican Congressional Committee ...