Panetta optimistic about immigration deal
CONGRESSMAN JIMMY Panetta said he's optimistic that the extraordinary meeting President Donald Trump convened at the White House with Republican and Democratic leaders Tuesday over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will soon lead to a resolution, which the Democrat from Carmel Valley said could include some sort of a wall on the southern border. Panetta said he was encouraged by the discussion in which Trump seemed to be open to an agreement that would offer a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 800,000 illegal immigrant children brought to this country by their parents.
Socalled Dreamers, who now range in age from 16 to 35, number about 20,000 in Monterey County and 200,000 in California. "If we can keep it to a reasonable discussion about border security, as well as uphold the principles of the Dream Act, I'm very hopeful we can come up with a solution to our Dreamers in a short amount of time," Panetta told The Pine Cone Wednesday.
While Panetta had previously said that he would not be in favor of providing funding for a border wall as a condition of providing amnesty to DACA recipients — saying it amounted to "bargaining the lives" of those who came to the country illegally — he now concedes that a wall, at least on parts of the United States and Mexico border, is feasible.
"I'm willing to talk about a reasonable wall," Panetta said Wednesday. "I just got off the house floor talking to [Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar] from Texas, who basically said, ‘Yeah, there are areas in his district where a wall would be reasonable.'" Any wall fortification, though, should be "evidence based," meaning input from residents who live on the border, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and border agents should be considered.
"We need to basically get input as to what exactly is needed and where it's needed," he said. What's not necessary and something Panetta would not support is a wall that spans all 2,000 miles of the southern border with Mexico, an idea that even Trump — who said he wants $18 billion for a wall — has dismissed. "We don't want a solid wall all along the border; that is completely unreasonable," Panetta said.
"What we are talking about is that there are areas where a wall may be necessary, but there may be other areas in border security that we must be looking at." The congressman said other border security measures, such as additional border patrol agents, air and marine operations, beefed-up infrastructure, and better technology should also be considered.
Ever since the Trump announced last Spring that he would revoke President Barack Obama's 2013 DACA program, and asked Congress to come up with a replacement, Panetta has had ongoing discussions with the Congressional "Problem Solvers" group, a bipartisan caucus.
The group talks about a wide range of immigration issues, including ways to secure the border through relatively simple solutions.
"We have gone as far as to talk about eradication of carrizo cane and salt cedar, which is basically the thick brush that is down there that makes it difficult" for border agents to see people crossing from Mexico into the United States, he said.
Through those talks, Panetta said he's gotten an earful from Republican members — including those whose districts don't have as many illegal immigrant workers as Panetta's — about their take on DACA. However, he said some of Trump's ideas for reforming immigration go too far.
"I do believe that once you start talking about [ending] chain migration and the visa lottery program, and instituting merit-based immigration, you should also be talking about comprehensive immigration reform," Panetta said. "I'm open to talking about those things, but it must be part of a larger package."