FM Talk 1065 Podcasts
State Senator Chris Elliott - Jeff Poor Show - Friday 9-20-24
Hello Kansas, we feel fun, we're living thank you for your time. You work with 40 hours, we're living. Just to send it on down the line. Hello, it's virgin, you're cold, minor, let me thank you for your time. You work with 40 hours, we're living. Welcome back to the Jef War Show that I'm talking about 60 hours. Thanks for hanging out on this Friday morning. What's left of it? I should say 2513430106. Get them in while you can and maybe time permitting it to be very, very conclusion to today's program. We'll try to work a few of them in joining us now. We do this this time every Friday. He is a returning champion of the Jef War Show. State Senator, Chris Elliott, Senator. Good morning. How are you? I am doing great. It is good to be back in the state of Alabama. Oh, yeah. So that's where we'll kick it off here. I want to ask you to respond to be the official response to the Parker Griffith segment. But we'll start with the border. Tell us. I mean, what were you able to find out down there? Well, a lot. And, you know, there are a lot of folks that traits down there to, you know, get a picture made and a photo op and all of those kinds of things. And this was decidedly not that kind of trip. You had a number of legislators, about four or five from the Senate and two or three from the House that were down there, along with with sheriffs and law enforcement officials from Alabama. And as well, who see these problems firsthand and know what the, what the issues are and what problems there, you know, the illegal immigration is causing in our communities. And so our goal was to figure out, okay, where is this failing at the federal level? And then knowing that this is a federal issue and a federal problem that is not being fixed. And frankly, as we've made much, much worse by this administration, what can we do at the state level to try to stem the tide of illegal immigrants in Alabama? And that is one thing that I think was, you know, particularly relevant and why we went to Texas as opposed to New Mexico or Arizona or California is because Governor Abbott's policies have been very effective in reducing both immigration and migrants coming through Texas at points of entry, but also illegal crossing. Basically, they've made it inhospitable in Texas, and so those folks are going somewhere else. And we want to do the same thing here in Alabama. Well, and so making it, I mean, like, what does that entail? Like, how do you see what's going on here in some of these localities too? And it looks to me like you got a population of X amount of folks that are just being kind of steered toward Alabama, if anything. Well, and that's exactly right. And that's one of the things we really had to pull apart. And so we talked with officials from the state of Texas, from the Department of Public Safety, you know, the state troopers, if you will, in Texas, the border patrol as well. And you start peeling back the onion and just like everything else in the federal government, there's so many different layers and responsibilities. You know, Border Patrol does this, then Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE does that. Then you have, you know, the Customs and Immigration Services, USCIF, that does something else. And so there are all these different layers. The Border Patrol can catch everybody that they want to, but if processing means letting them go, then we have a bigger problem. And the law enforcement folks that are there on the border aren't going to be successful because it really turns into a catch and release thing, this disastrous policy of letting the Venezuelans, the Cubans, the Haitians, you know, back out and Nicaraguan back out with work permits and temporary protected status is very problematic. And so you have to start looking at what the entire process is and how do you attack it at the state level. And I think we will be able to do that through a number of different measures. You know, all of these folks have to have sponsors here in Alabama on the ground. We need to look at how we are dealing with and what we know about those sponsors. We need to, you know, one of the things we keep hearing is our driving, education problems, driving issues. We need to look at drivers, licenses, license, vehicle tags and things of that nature. There are a number of different things that are truly state responsibilities that we can get into. Well, yeah, and I guess it's kind of regulating the wild wild west right now. I mean, number one, you mentioned the sponsors, but there's these NGOs. And I don't know how I mean, I have an idea of how this whole process works when there's, you know, resettlement, relocation or whatever. But like it doesn't, who regulates it? Would that fall on the state of Alabama, perhaps? Well, it shouldn't. But at the end of the day, we need to figure out, again, understand the federal process well, very well, then dig into it. What can we do at the state level? Again, admittedly, federal responsibility to try to keep this from being a huge problem in Alabama, and that's what we're seeing right now. And so understanding that process is so, so very crucial. And so we saw and talked with migrants that had been detained. We went to the NGOs like Catholic social services and talk to them about their process. And listen, these are well-meaning people. They are trying to help out their fellow human being, and I understand that. And to some extent, not a large one, but to some extent, I can appreciate that. But at the end of the day, what's problematic is they are making it easier. They are encouraging people to come to the United States illegally. And that is something I don't want to have happen, that we should not encourage. And so I want to discourage that in the state as much as we can. We just have to be very smart about how we do it. Well, here's the thing, Sarah, and this seems to be a big part of it. I mean, it's the jobs that need to be filled here and sort of the weird economics of the jobs. Now, we'll keep the policy processing, for example. And that seems to be a big magnet for immigration to Alabama for better force. Well, and I was like, well, all they need to do, hire locals, just pay more. But there's a weird policy thing here. So if you start paying people more, those who get, maybe they get benefits from the government, they reject raises. They reject a job that's just really, really not a very fun place to be at one of these plants. It's gross, it's dangerous, whatever. And they're happy making their 20K or 25K years, as long as they can keep their federal benefits and you pair it with this low skilled job. And that seems to be what's keeping these, that's what's creating these unfilled jobs at these industries we have in this state, this drawing, this migration. And like, we need to look at that, right? We need to understand kind of the dynamics of that. Otherwise, this is just going to go on in perpetuity. Look, Jeff, I believe in the free market. I always have and I always will. That doesn't always mean that it's easy, but it works. And it works every time. And so let's let's let the market work. Senator, you can't compete against the government. If you're, if you're, if your pilgrim's pride and the government's paying people just to stay at home and do nothing. Well, then they have to compete against the government in addition to that. And well, while that sounds like the free market. Yeah, but, but it's not free. There, there is a perverse incentive introduced by the, the, the public sector, the government to not work and fill these jobs. And, and yes, obviously I agree with that. And that was, that was where I was headed is we, we need to let the free market work, but you're right, you can't compete against the government handing out, you know, welfare benefits. You can't compete against the government handing out free cell funds. You can't compete against the government handing out free health care. You can't compete against, you know, all of these, you know, all of these different things that are causing a disincentive to work and, and why our labor participation rate is so low in Alabama. But what we also don't need to do is we also don't need to subsidize some of these businesses and, and their practices with cheap immigrant labor that may sound cheap but has huge societal costs. When it comes to our education systems, our health care systems, because all of these folks that are here illegally are utilizing those, those systems are here on a temporary protected status or whatever else. There is a very real cost to those folks being here and their labor being cheap. And it is, and it is born by all taxpayers. And it's not federal government that's being, money that's being spent on these folks. It is state of Alabama and local tax revenue that is being spent on this illegal immigration problem. Well, how about this? And is there a way to recoup some of that from these people? The, the, these actors that are enabling this dynamic, like I would say, because I think, you know, these, these processing plants or maybe there's other businesses that are using this labor, but they're kind of welcoming. You know, I always heard like when you're on your way to the US border in Mexico, there were signs saying come work at Tyson's or come work at pilgrims or wherever. And to me, it's this, okay, well, I'll go spend some time in Boaz, Alabama, and they, they become sort of a charge on the, on the public system. Well, if those companies are using this, like, how do you hit, are they, are they culpable for some of this burden on the local infrastructure, health care, schools or whatever. I think everyone in that system that's taking advantage of, of the immigrants and is taking advantage of our broken immigration system. Whether it's the illegal immigrants or those that are here on, you know, some sort of work pass or, or temporary protected status has some responsibility for the services, of course, that they're using. And so we need to look at, and we'll be looking at other ways to recoup, you know, some of that. And again, just make it, you know, not as encouraging to come to Alabama. You know, do we need to look at a fee on remittances back to Venezuela, you know, Guatemala, Nicaragua. Is there a way that the local government can all set that the, you know, the cost of educating these children? And we are seeing this in, in, in our districts here in, in Alabama and all of a damage. We're seeing huge burdens on school system from English language learners, which is the nice way to say, you know, these, these immigrant children that cannot speak English. We're over here trying to make sure, you know, they're, they're reading a grade level and, and passing the math test and, heck, they can't even speak English. And some of them have never been to school before. The damage to our communities is real regardless of what Parker Griffith says. And, and we intend to absolutely get a handle on it. Well, and back to the, the private, the only part is the private companies are, I don't know if they're exploiting the labor or using it. Are we incentivizing them? And I think in some cases you do inducements here to locate their plants in Alabama. I mean, we have a, we have these, these economic incentives. I think if you go to state, ought to take a look and see if any of these enticements are being used by these companies that I think are kind of enabling this problem. Well, that's, that's another good idea. And again, just, just being fresh back, we are, you know, my colleagues and I that have, you know, that, that traveled to the border this week have, have been, you know, nonstop text message chain back and forth bouncing ideas off of each other and trying to figure out what are the solutions and what we saw in Texas was a, an everything approach. Try to figure out what you can do to, to make these folks not want to be here in Alabama and put those burdens on our local governments and our state government. And so Texas, again, has been very successful with it. They've seen huge drops in border crossings. And they've seen most of that shift to places like California and Arizona. And, and as much as I hate that these folks are coming into our country in California and Arizona and then moving around the country still, I want to do the same thing Texas has done and, and have them go somewhere else. Yeah, it's, it's, well, it's like using a verify and when you drive across the state line in the Florida, I mean, there's a sign it's a state border. There's, it seems like there's a lot of things that could be done to really tighten things up in Alabama that maybe we aren't doing, right? We do. We do. And, and, and look, I have compassion for these folks. They're not making this track and spending the money that they're spending to come to the United States because everything is hunky to worry. Back where they are. I mean, Haiti is a disaster. Venezuela is a disaster. But, you know, we have to, we have to make sure that we protect our own and that we look out for our kids and the resources, the limited resources that we have before we start taking care of the world. There is a right way to come into the United States. There is, there is a process and a path for that. And, and we are welcoming of legal immigration into the United States. But what I saw on the border and what I have seen around this country and what we are seeing in Alabama and our towns and our cities is not legal immigration and it is putting a horrible strain on our resources. Yeah. And, and just one finishing touch on this point we're talking about when, when, when, what, what is bringing these people here and yeah, maybe it's the jobs or whatever and, or maybe it's just NGOs or sponsors are, are, are what not. But we got a knowledge to buy an administration is playing a big role here. Can the state take at least Sue or I don't know what they could do. The federal government saying, Hey, you're, you're putting this burden on us and we reject that are what we like gestures, can the state of Alabama make in that direction. Well, we can sue and, and there are 19 states in the Biden administration right now to, to stop this crazy parole program that is just into the catching release program. But one of the most frustrating things that I saw and you're right that the blame for this late squarely at the Biden Harris administration. I saw a lay down yard construction lay down yard, not too far north of the border with an idle concrete plant and sections of the border wall laying there ready to be installed. And Border Patrol had told us it's been sitting there since just since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris got elected just sitting there because they could have stopped all of that. And that's simply unacceptable there to blame for this, it lays your rearrest squarely on the borders are shoulders. And unfortunately, it's going to be up to the states to try to figure work around out and, and hopefully a president Donald Trump to get this country headed back in the right direction when it comes to immigration. And finally real quick, Chris Mars Beach wanted me to give you an atta boy for the hearing aid tax abatement. Well, that's, that's a great bill by Remton, Margie Wilcox over in Mobile to remove the state portion of that tax. Our local governments are have not woken up to the fact that they still tax it in large part. And it is great to see Foley, the city of Foley, in act this week, they did away with their tax on that, their sales tax on that. I think that's what he's referred to. So, hey, that's how government is supposed to work and I'm glad when we can help out folks that need a little bit more money in their pocket, especially when everything costs more thanks to the inflation we've been seeing from this administration. So, there's always, we appreciate it. We'll do it again next week. Thanks for having me. All right. Say Senator Chris Elliott. We'll be right back. This is the Chia Pore Show. If I've talked about those six, five, the first thing I remember knowing was a lonesome whistle blowing and the youngest dream of growing up to ride on a freight train leaving town, not knowing where I'm bound and no one can change my mind But mama tried