Price: Immigration reform necessary

U.S. Rep. David Price told the N.C. Sheriffs' Association on Monday that comprehensive immigration reform is on the horizon.

He said Congress could see a bill as early as September that will get the ball rolling on reforming immigration.

"It is a debate that is not yet resolved at the local level," Price said. "We simply need to have, I believe, comprehensive immigration reform at the national level."

Price listed off increases in crime prevention funding that he has helped direct as chairman of the subcommittee on homeland security appropriations, several of which have focused on immigration.

But he said no matter how much money is devoted to immigration enforcement, there is a larger problem that needs to be tackled.

"We are not going to spend our way out of the enforcement problem," he said. "And we are not going to enforce our way out of comprehensive reform either."

He said people need to realize the different roles of local and national government in the debate. Local governments, he said, should focus on crime prevention, while the national government works on reform.

"This is a big challenge, and we need to get it right," he said.