Jones Issues Immigration Platform, Releases First TV Commercial

With the Labor Day holiday in the rear view mirror, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones has issued his platform on immigration and has released his campaign's first TV commercial. Republican Jones is challenging incumbent Dr. Ami Bera (D - Elk Grove) in California's hotly contested Seventh Congressional District race.

Jones, who gained national recognition with comments addressed to President Obama on border security following the murder of a Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff by an undocumented person, has adopted much of the immigration dogma spoken by the national Republican Party on one of this election cycle's most visible issue.

The five points of Jones' immigration platform include securing of the American-Mexican border, zero tolerance for illegal immigration once the border is secure, employment verification to protect American workers, a temporary work program for immigrant workers, and a pathway to legal status for the 11 million undocumented immigrants. 

Jones' critics have tried linking him with Republican Presidential nominee Donald J. Trump, who in California is polling far behind his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Although Jones initially said he would vote for Trump but not endorse him, has now distanced himself from Trump's bombast on immigration and has taken a stance against mass deportation, but not providing a path to citizenship.

“...it is not practical to round up 11 million people and ship them home, and it is not right to grant citizenship to 11 million people who broke our laws to enter our country," Jones said. "My middle ground approach will allow those who have not committed new crimes while here to stay and live out of the shadows while protecting all Americans.”

As part of the ramp up to election day, Jones' also released a commercial that will air on local TV stations. Sticking with his focus on immigration, in the ad dubbed  "Top Priority," Jones references the October,  2014 murder of a Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver by an undocumented person.