On August 29, 2017, the live debate on ABC7 – Sarasota focused on President Donald Trump’s legal immigration plan – also known as the RAISE Act. President Trump’s plan would shift America’s immigration system from a family/lottery based system to a merit-based system, which would allow America to focus on bringing individuals in who are more likely to be self-sufficient contributing members of society, less likely to commit crime and show a willingness to assimilate into our culture by learning English. In short, it puts America First!
Full Debate
Liberal Gone Wild Segment
Debate Featuring:

Christian Ziegler
State Committeeman

Keith Fitzgerald
Fmr. Democrat State Representative

Johannes Werner
Owner, Cuba Standard
He was yelling at you to stop yelling!
I agree with his plan. Many other countries will not let you come into the country as either an immigrant or even to work without certain criteria. I don’t see why we can do the same. The fact that some claim their parents wouldn’t have been able to come here because they wouldn’t meet the standards, well that’s ok. We are not living in our parents or grandparents time. We have too many homeless, unemployed, living in poverty here in the US. We need to serve them first. I struggle to make ends meet as it is and I’m tired of paying taxes to support immigrants coming in, either legal or illegal.
Immigration should be based on needs of the country. No more fat, white males.
We have let an uncontrolled number of immigrants into America for years now, some legal, but a preponderance of our immigrants have been illegal, low-skilled people. That has put a low-skilled bulge in the overall system, until we can resolve the illegal immigrant issue which provides a huge number of unskilled immigrants versus very few skilled immigrants who tend to come to our country legally.
At the present time, we need no more unskilled workers. So trying to attract the skilled workers is in the best interest of our nation. As the immigration issue evens out and more workers are needed in the medium to low skilled areas, then the bar can be raised or lowered as needed to permit more legal immigrants.
The illegal immigrant status in this country has overbalanced the system. We must aggressively address this issue while simultaneously filling in our high-skilled immigrant needs as this plan does. Just because President Trump has started out with high-skilled immigrants first, doesn’t mean that in a few years we can’t open up visas for the lower-skilled immigrants. To do that though, the overwhelming low-skilled illegal immigrant numbers must be reduced, as the illegal immigrants are pushing out American citizens who want and need the work and are adding to our perilous welfare system at an alarming rate when even they can’t find unskilled labor jobs.
Being a legal American citizen must count for something, and should allow an equally qualified American citizen worker to jump to the head of the line for a job. We must take care of America and American citizens first.
When Senator Ted Kennedy enacted his 1965 Immigration bill, his comment was that in the long term there would be no change in the ethnic balance of America. In 1965, 90% of America was white, Caucasian. In 2017, only 63% of America is white, Caucasian and that percentage is projected to drop below 50% in a few short years. Other ethnicities have drastically changed since that 1965 law as well.
Whether you are for or against unrestrained immigration as Teddy Kennedy was, a 27% change in the ethnic balance of this country or any country in just 52 years is significant. At no time in America’s history has there ever been a drastic change such as this, not even during those times of ethnic distress, such as the Irish famine, Jewish ethnic cleansing by the Nazis, or any other of a number of equal world ethnic immigration to America crises.
There needs to be a more planned, common-sense plan for America’s legal immigration. Attracting the world’s brightest super stars does not seem like a bad idea for any country, especially America. As President Trump has often said, “We must put America FIRST AGAIN.”
Fifty-two years of a failed immigration plan demands that it be replaced with a more common-sense approach that takes into account America’s real needs from abroad. But we must not displace equally qualified Americans from having a job here in America. Too many Americans are losing their U.S. jobs and forced to go overseas for an equal job. All too often, they were replaced in their American job by a non-citizen foreigner. This must change and change today. Congress has kicked this can down the road for future generations for too long. Change in the direction of a proposal like President Trump’s make common sense.
Unfortunately, our congress has no common sense, is very self-serving, and prides itself in doing as little as possible while collecting a healthy paycheck for little to no work. So the chances of congress approving something like this is close to nil. Shame on them! Drain the swamp, starting with congress and their staffs.
If Keith “Fitz” Fitzgerald decides to run for State House #72, here the good start of a campaign ad against “Let them all in” Fitzgerald…