Brown County, TX
Republican Party

2008 STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM

• Border Security – We agree with the overwhelming majority of the American people who support “order on the border” as the primary principle in tackling the complex issues created by illegal immigration. We believe that all necessary physical, financial, legal, and technological means must be deployed immediately to stop the flow of illegal aliens, organized crime and potential terrorists across our borders. The Texas Office of Homeland Security and Federal Drug Enforcement officials report Texas has become the number one drug trans-shipment center in the nation and that powerful and ruthless Mexican organized crime groups now dominate the lucrative US drug and human smuggling market. In at least one documented instance the Mexican military entered Texas in support of organized drug trafficking operations. Therefore, we urge immediate and substantial increase of staffing and funding of the United States Border Patrol to secure our borders and protect our citizens. We encourage the expansion of Operations Strong Safety and Linebacker to reduce crime and increase security along the Texas border, and Operation Rio Grande which increases and coordinates law enforcement assets along the forty-five border counties. We further urge the President to:
  
  
  1. build a physical barrier along the entire length of our country’s border with Mexico, beginning with urban interface locations and appropriate monitoring
  2. deploy the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (I.C.E.) within the U.S. to locate and secure all illegal aliens who have previously entered our country and expedite their return to their source country and
  3. expand the use of the National Guard to secure our border.
     Should the federal government fail to uphold its constitutionally mandated obligation to protect the border of Texas, we call upon the Governor and Legislature of Texas to take action.

• Civil Defense – In World War I, America had a strong grassroots civil defense system comprised of and administered by volunteers from each county’s citizenry. We support the restoration of our civil defense system. A non–partisan effort should be made to organize communication and emergency response training for citizens to assist in times of emergency, and the local county government should appoint a civilian defense coordinator. Elected county officials should be in charge of decisions affecting the local community. We urge Congress to remove any and all gun laws that infringe upon the U.S. constitutional rights of the citizens to protect their homes and communities.
• Federalization of Police – We applaud the efforts of peace officers who maintain public order with minimal use of force. We oppose the federalization and militarization of local police forces.
• Foreign Military Bases on American Soil – We oppose any foreign or international military base on American soil. We oppose relinquishing United States supremacy to any foreign powers on United States soil. We encourage Congress to prohibit all foreign or international military bases from the United States.
• Foreign Control of US Interests – We oppose the sale, transfer, management and/or ownership of critical U.S. interests by foreign or international entities such as our: ports, transportation facilities, defense industries, utilities, generating facilities, and/or mineral interests on public lands. Foreign owned properties and the income they generate should be subject to current US tax laws and rates.
• Homeland Security – We urge the Homeland Security Department to:
  
  
  1. revitalize and adequately fund our national intelligence gathering capabilities;
  2. continue to enhance the coordination of information and intelligence between various local, state, and federal agencies;
  3. pass the information on to the local or state agency(s) to prepare to deter and defend against a risk once identified;
  4. not violate the constitutional rights of the citizens of the United States;
  5. provide for the adequate protection of high profile targets, such as refineries, nuclear power plants and national monuments;
  6. enhance the security in use at our airports, navigable ports of entry, and other transportation terminals to prevent the use of transportation vehicles as a weapon against the United States;
  7. use random selection and terrorist profiling as a criteria for determining persons to be searched at U.S. airports;
  8. establish and maintain the presence of armed guards and armed pilots on all commercial aircraft and the immediate authorization of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard to board and search all vessels entering U.S. waters from foreign ports. We urge Congress to order the immediate training of airline pilots by qualified firearms instructors at reasonable fees for the protection of their aircraft against terrorist attack.
  9. continue to use: Criminal Law Enforcement Investigators, Texas Highway Patrol strike teams, SWAT teams, aviation assets, Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Department of Criminal Justice tracking teams, Texas Rangers, Department of Public Safety strike teams, Game Wardens, local law enforcement, Civil Air Patrol wherever needed to conduct air and ground operations in support of Homeland Security; We commend Governor Perry for his initiative in utilizing these resources.
  10. thoroughly inspect the contents of vehicles and containers coming across our borders using rapid and accurate technology.
  11. increased funding for the Federal Air Marshal Program. We urge the Department of Homeland Security to offer incentives for pilots to enroll in the Federal Flight Deck Officers Program, which is currently a voluntary program, and decrease the onerous paperwork requirements currently established. We also support incentives for encouraging airlines to support this program.

• National Defense – We continue to encourage and support:
  
  
  1. funding for a strong national defense, which guarantees maintaining a military which stands ready to defend our nation and increases combat readiness;
  2. continued funding and development of the Strategic Defense Initiative
  3. disengagement from countries in which we have no clear national defense interest;
  4. “America First” priority in protecting the citizens and borders of the United States;
  5. not entering into any new arms control agreements with any nation that is not currently complying with previous agreements;
  6. the military never being deployed except to defend against an invasion or in protection of the United States’ direct, vital interests; and which may include pre-emptive action
  7. maintaining our military’s effective combat strength sufficient to defend our nation’s borders and its strategic interests;
  8. expiration of the special emergency war powers of the executive branch unless renewed by Congress in 6 month intervals; and,
  9. the immediate deployment of the United States of America’s Military Forces to secure America’s southern border.

• Legal Immigration – We believe that America has greatly benefited from immigrants who have legally come to this country to work and begin a new life reflecting American values and traditions. We support:
  
  
  1. systematic assimilation of legal immigrants into the American culture; baseline requirements for citizenship to include proficiency in the English language, study of American history and of the American form of government;
  2. development of a practical, limited, and temporary worker program that does not serve as an automatic path to citizenship;
  3. firm and consistent enforcement of all existing immigration laws;
  4. an immediate end to the practice of “chain migration”;
  5. aggressive locating and deporting of aliens who have overstayed their visas;
  6. establishing immigration quotas at levels that are sufficient to meet America’s needs;
  7. an immediate end to the practice of allowing aliens “adjust status” by requiring them to “adjust” in the U.S. Embassy of their home country; and further, a waiver of the unlawful presence inadmissibility for those illegal aliens who register on their return trip to their home country while they legally wait for an immigrant visa.
  8. the cessation of the issuance of visas to individuals from foreign countries that sponsor terrorism;
  9. screening potential immigrants for communicable diseases;
  10. withholding federal funds from universities that give lower in-state tuition rates to immigrants on student visas, or refuse to cooperate with the foreign student tracking system;
  11. designating Non-Citizens as such on their driver’s license to prevent voter fraud and that their driver’s licenses expire on the same date of any visa;
  12. requiring naturalized citizens to renounce their native citizenship and surrender their foreign passport; and
  13. a tamper-proof identification and tracking system for all aliens, i.e. non-citizens and their dependents that would protect Hispanic, and other naturalized US citizens from job discrimination and unburden American businesses from the job of verification.

• Illegal Immigration – No amnesty! No how. No way.
  With growing impatience, the American people in overwhelming numbers have asked our government to secure our borders. They now demand it and we as a party agree with the American people. Illegal aliens have, by definition, committed a criminal act. We oppose illegal immigration, amnesty in any form, or legal status for illegal immigrants. The American people remember the broken promises of 1986 and will not be misled again. We support:
  
  
  1. an immediate end to the current “catch and release” policy of Homeland Security;
  2. stiffer fines, criminal penalties, and an aggressive enforcement policy for those who knowingly employ illegal workers;
  3. expeditious hearings on deporting non-violent illegal immigrants held in prisons or jails;
  4. suspending automatic U.S. citizenship to children born to illegal immigrant parents;
  5. elimination of federal funding to cities that have “sanctuary” laws prohibiting local police from identifying and reporting illegal immigrants to federal authorities;
  6. empowering state and local law enforcement agencies with the authority, responsibility and resources needed to detain illegal immigrants within the course of their regular duties;
  7. the rejection of non-verifiable foreign-issued cards, such as matricula consular as valid identification for official documentation purposes;
  8. investigation and strict prosecution of agencies, businesses or persons involved in the production, distribution or acceptance of phony identification documents;
  9. elimination of day labor work centers;
  10. elimination of all laws requiring hospitals to give non-emergency medical care to illegal immigrants;
  11. elimination of social security benefits or government funding to illegal immigrants for education, housing and business loans.
  12. legislation to prevent any foreign country and/or its citizens from using the judicial system of the United States to gain entrance to the U.S.;
  13. strong document verification prior to the issuance of a Texas drivers license to anyone;
  14. the withholding of federal highway funds from any state that issues drivers licenses to illegal aliens;
  15. aggressive prosecution of persons involved in smuggling humans across our borders.

• Enforcement of Immigration Law – We support the genuine strict and immediate enforcement of all immigration laws.
• NASA – We support appropriate funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Texas Aerospace Commission. We strongly urge the utilization of private research and design for the purpose of replacing or supplementing the current “shuttle system” with a “completely reusable vehicle”, which would be more cost effective in getting to and from space; for the purpose of maintaining and establishing space stations, communications and surveillance satellites, solar-generating systems, and enhancing national defense.
• Support of Our Armed Forces – We salute those who serve in all branches of our armed forces, in particular those who have and are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and encourage all Americans to support these brave and patriotic men and women. Our armed forces should be paid a sufficient wage to prevent them from ever being eligible for, or in need of, food stamp assistance. Our armed forces should be paid a reasonable wage that encourages retention of these highly trained personnel. In support of our armed forces, we recommend:
  
  
  1. that all United States forces remain under the command and control of only the Commander-in-Chief and American officers and commanders;
  2. the disqualification of homosexuals from military service;
  3. the immediate discharge of HIV positive individuals from service;
  4. the exclusion of women from combat roles;
  5. members of our armed forces retain their freedom to refuse vaccines not certified as safe by the FDA and the Surgeon General;
  6. the open admission to the military of citizens with a General Equivalency Diploma (GED);
  7. restoration of full military honors for the burial of deceased veterans;
  8. restoration of all veteran benefits including retirement pay and disability pay, without an offset for disability pay, as well as, appropriate medical and dental care;
  9. health and disability benefits equal to active military for national guard and military reserves if injured while on active duty;
  10. restoration of promised full lifetime medical health benefits to retired military personnel and their families;
  11. separation of men and women in basic training, as is the practice of the Marine Corps;
  12. not requiring members of United States forces to swear allegiance to or wear any item of uniform, other than that of the United States, or being required to serve in any capacity under an officer of the United Nations or other foreign state;
  13. upgrading, modernizing and maintaining the equipment, weapons and vehicles for the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of our armed forces;
  14. military and civilian citizens displaced by service to our country be afforded the opportunity and given special consideration and ample time for their vote to be counted in the election day results;
  15. the continuation of the all volunteer armed forces, the recruitment and advancement of military personnel based on the needs of the military and the qualifications of the person, and not for the purpose of social engineering; and
  16. the expeditious construction of a Veterans Museum in Texas.
  17. support of our troops with packages from home and call upon Congress to greatly reduce the cost or completely waive the cost of mailing packages to APO/FPO addresses.
      
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