Calling illegal immigration "rampant," U.S. Rep. Adam Smith told Burien Lions Club members last week the first step toward solving this problem is to get "better control of our borders."

Smith, a Democrat whose 9th Congressional District includes Des Moines, Normandy Park, SeaTac and part of Burien, said he is "not necessarily opposed to a fence" along the United States' border with Mexico.

Ten to 20 million illegal immigrants now in the U.S. "undermine our economy," added the five-term congressmen, a graduate from Tyee High School in SeaTac who is running for re-election this fall.

And under their weight, the legal system is starting to collapse.

Existing fair-labor standards need to be enforced because "this underground economy undercuts work rules," Smith said. Then "there would be a lot less incentive for businesses to hire illegal immigrants...

"We also need a better work visa program that is controllable and enforceable," together with "better penalties for businesses who knowingly hire illegals."

But, he continued, "We can't stop illegal immigration completely. All you have to do is look at the economy of Latin America and look at the economy of the United States. They're going to come."

Smith noted that "immigration, by and large, is a positive thing" for America.

"For over 100 years, people have been desperate to come to America. The best and brightest in the world want to come here, or at least used to. That's changing a little bit."

Legal immigrants who come here to work should "work toward citizenship," Smith said. "I'm not for a permanent pool of immigrant labor."

Although he doesn't believe that immigrants from Latin America are less willing to assimilate into American society than were previous generations of immigrants from Europe, Smith thinks "we should work toward a common language ... this concerns me a little bit.

"If I wrote the curriculum, I would push [immigrant students who speak foreign languages] harder and quicker toward English."

Smith described himself as a "centrist." As a centrist, he said he recognizes there is "no perfect ideology out there" and tries to be "flexible to find solutions...

"I worry that in Congress we've gotten to the place where to don't listen" to opposing views.