WISCREPORT- Steve Kagen, the Democrat who is trying to win the Congressional seat that Mark Green held, has questioned Republican John Gard’s commitment to cracking down on illegal immigration in light of what Kagen's campaign is calling Gard’s past history of accepting contributions from businesses who benefit from foreign workers who are hired illegally. Green is now running for Wisconsin Governor against incumbent Gov. Jim Doyle, Democrat.

“There is a real difference in this race. I want to change things in Washington, and John Gard won't even try. His supporters in Washington have neglected our borders for years, and now at the last minute, they are claiming to care about securing our nation. Well, it's too little too late,” Kagen said. “It is time for new leadership and tough reforms in Washington.”

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Gard has taken $3,500 in campaign contributions from Carl Kuehne, a Green Bay businessman whose meat packing plant was busted in a 1996 INS raid for employing 77 suspected illegal immigrants (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 9/28/06).

Kagen's campaign for the 8th District Congressional seat claims that Gard's five point plan for cracking down on illegal immigration neglects to call on employers to stop hiring illegal immigrants or to call for increased security at the border.

Democrat Steve Kagen says the Republican Congress in Washington has also neglected to crack down on illegal hiring by voting against stiffer penalties for employers (HR 4437, Vote #657, 12/16/05; HR 4437, Vote #658, 12/16/05).

“John Gard’s immigration plan does nothing about their source of income. Follow the money and you'll find the outlaws, and who is supporting them.” said Kagen. “My opponent, John Gard, supports illegal immigration and the illegal employers who benefit from their lower wages. In Congress, I pledge to fight for tougher penalties for employers who tilt the playing field by hiring foreign workers outside the law. The reality is that we cannot solve our immigration crisis until we crack down on employers who permit foreign workers to take Wisconsin jobs”, Kagen says.

The Kagen Immigration Pledge:

1. Secure Our Borders - through increased funding for technology and surveillance measures.

2. Obey and Enforce All our Laws - by fighting for tougher sanctions for employers who break the rules and hire illegally.

3. Oppose Amnesty - with no cutting in line.


Dr. Kagen earned his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and was voted one of the "Best Doctors in America" by Wisconsin physicians.

Kagen founded the Kagen Allergy Clinics in Appleton, Green Bay, Oshkosh, and Fond du Lac; serves as an assistant clinical professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin; and has earned an international reputation for his groundbreaking work in identifying new causes of allergy and asthma.