The separate issues of border security and immigration have become entwined as the American economy continues to wane, an illicit drug trade continues to flourish and a vast number of Americans remain unemployed as illegal immigrants take jobs on American soil. This leads to the immigration and border security issues becoming increasingly important and controversial.

With President Barack Obama’s decision to take a vacation from deporting millions of people who broke our nation’s laws by entering our soil illegally, it is vital that we get to know which GOP candidate would do the best job of redressing the damage he has done. Thus, I will endeavor to examine the immigration stances of Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. Today, I start with Michele Bachmann.

I begin with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s stated positions. On her Congressional Website, she points out that our current immigration laws have serious flaws and our obsolete. She states her views below.

The last time our immigration laws were overhauled was in 1986, when Congress granted amnesty to almost three million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and promised increased border security in the near future. Twenty years later, the number of illegal immigrants in our country has quadrupled, with no end in sight. Rather than repeating the mistakes of our past, I believe Congress must work to secure our nation’s borders and enforce the immigration laws already in place. Once this is achieved, improvements to the current system can be considered.

On the campaign trail, she has established a strong position in favor of enhancing the level of security present on the Mexican Border. The Patriot Action Network recently blogged a Bachmann campaign visit to Greenville, SC.

Bachmann said “The problem has been in our unwillingness to enforce the laws that are on the books.” and “How do you solve it? You build a barrier, a fence, a wall — whatever you want to call it. You build it…As president of the United States, every mile, every yard, every foot, every inch will be covered on that southern border.”

While she hasn’t been lead author on any legislation that reflects these stated priorities, she has been supportive of others. She is one of 64 co-sponsors for Congressman Rohrabacher on H.R.787: No Social Security for Illegal Aliens Act. She also co-sponsored Congressman Hunter’s H.R.1134: Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act. According to OnTheIssues.org, Congresswoman Bachmann has also stated support for making English the official language of The United States.

On the Issues goes on to describe four basic positions that they believe describe American attitudes towards open borders and unrestricted immigration. Strongly Support, Support, Oppose, Strongly Oppose. I personally Oppose Open Borders and Unlimited Immigration, Congresswoman Bachmann Strongly opposes these ideas. To the extent that I disagree with this candidate at all on immigration, I can offer up only two minor quibbles to balance out the remainder of this post.

I would like to see her think of something to address the economic impact of lost migrant labor on agriculture, and I would also like to see her encourage a larger number of decent and legal immigrants to join the American Family. That’s it. Otherwise, she basically has the issue nailed. As I said before, these are minor quibbles. Compared to Barack Obama’s “Call Me When I’m Back From Martha’s Vineyard” Policy on the issue, Michele Bachmann would truly be a godsend. (Coming soon: Mitt Romney on Immigration and Border Security).