An Ohio GOP argument for immigration reform: Chris Gibbs (Opinion)

There has never been a better time for conservatives to take meaningful action on immigration reform. It is an issue that encompasses core values conservatives hold dear — job creation, economic growth, family values, work ethic, personal responsibility, enhancing national security and making government function properly. By leading instead of following on immigration reform, Republicans have a chance to demonstrate we have a party equipped to govern and solve problems, a key pillar of winning the White House in 2016.

America needs authentic contributions to its culture from many different sources, including the contributions that can be made by immigrants coming here for a better life. There is nothing more authentic than the idea of people coming to America, leaving something else behind and becoming American in the process.

Theodore Roosevelt put it this way in his fourth message to Congress in 1904, a precursor to our modern-day State of the Union:

“There is no danger of having too many immigrants of the right kind. It makes no difference from what country they come. If they are sound in body and in mind, and, above all, if they are of good character […] then we should welcome them with cordial hospitality.”

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