Removing Illegal Immigrants: The Key to Job Creation?

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Removing Illegal Immigrants: The Key to Job Creation?

An Ala. congressman explains his controversial plan to create jobs for Americans

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," October 3, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Do you have a jobs solution? Congressman Mo Brooks says he has one. When you hear his idea, you know it is sure to draw some fire. Congressman Brooks joins us. Good evening, sir.

REP. MO BROOKS, R-ALA.: Good evening.

VAN SUSTEREN: What is your jobs plan?

BROOKS: You look at the Pew Hispanic Center study on the number of illegal aliens in America and the number of jobs they have, that's 7.4 million, illegal aliens in America. A quick way to create jobs in America is to remove those illegal aliens from our community. That frees up 7.4 million jobs that American can seek.

VAN SUSTEREN: A couple quick questions. I assume -- you say get rid of 7.4 illegal aliens. How are you going to do that?

BROOKS: By all means possible. It might be through the standard deportation process. It might be what the state of Alabama has done in making it so onerous for employers to hire illegal aliens that they are much more careful in their hiring processes. In the state of Alabama we have a significant number of illegal aliens that are leaving our state as occurred in Arizona after they got tough on illegal aliens.

The best way is for the federal government to implement a sound program that people know if people they are hiring are lawfully in our country and 23 they aren't, they won't get jobs and they will leave of their own accord.

VAN SUSTEREN: There are other problems. Many people illegal in the country have children who are American citizens.

BROOKS: Correct.

VAN SUSTEREN: Under your plan what do you man to do with the American citizens? Do you expect them to be received in the home country of their parents?

BROOKS: I expect their parents to take care of them. That's what I do with my kids. I would expect illegal alien parents to take care of their children. If it means the kids go back home with them, that's what happens. If it means there are legal relatives in the United States that can take care of them, that can happen to. But I believe it's the parents responsibility to take care of the kids. That's not the government's responsibility.

VAN SUSTEREN: And the people who are here, illegal aliens, some are paying Social Security, correct?

BROOKS: Correct.

VAN SUSTEREN: But they don't collect it.

BROOKS: That is correct.

VAN SUSTEREN: On a purely numbers basis, if we were to evict 7.4 million people as you suggest, we are going to have a lot of people on paid Social Security and now we have morph a problem on the Social Security.

BROOKS: I disagree.

VAN SUSTEREN: We've been sort of hosing them on the Social Security.

BROOKS: That's one small part of the overall tax subsidies the illegal aliens get in the United States of America. I was reading a study today, and the problem with all the studies is so much is based on assumption so you have to penetrate the assumptions. In this particular study the estimate was a $99 billion tax shortfall. When you look at the taxes that are paid out because of illegal aliens and the money that comes in because of illegal aliens, a $99 billion shortfall at the local, state and federal level combined because of illegal aliens, and that's just simply asking people to follow the law.

VAN SUSTEREN: Some business people would refer a path to citizenship or some sort of workers' program, they say they need -- that many of these jobs illegal aliens are doing are jobs that American citizens don't want.

BROOKS: I disagree with that, too. If you look at it from a purely economic perspective, we have a lot of illegal aliens of that taken over segments of the construction industry like masonry or framing or roofing in my neck of the woods, poultry.

VAN SUSTEREN: How about agriculture? How about picking food?

BROOKS: We used to have food picked and used to have houses built and we used to have chicken properly processed and it was Americans that did it. If we are going to continue to utilize those goods, then what's going to have to happen is that the employers are going to have to elevate the wages in order to attract American workers to do those jobs. It's supply and demand. It will happen because we as Americans are going to continue to want those goods and services that are now being done by illegal aliens at cut rate wages.

VAN SUSTEREN: Any support from the leadership in the House?

BROOKS: Can't say. At this point we have Lamar Smith that deals with e verify, and that will be first out as I understand it. It's already gone through the Judiciary Committee. We will see how that plays out. There's a conflict between the language in my bill and Congressman Lamar Smith's.

But the principle is very simple. My bill deals with allowing states and local governments to assist the government with the illegal alien problem in the states. And like with Arizona, the state of Alabama, and other states, we at the federal government level have been derelict in our duty. We should be sending them thinking notes, not lawsuits.

VAN SUSTEREN: Congressman, thank you. We will be watching to see how far your bill gets.

BROOKS: Thank you.