GOP candidates in 6th Congressional District differ on immigration; one says close borders to all

A Republican candidate for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District seat said the U.S. should close its borders to all would-be immigrants until reforms are enacted.

“You need to just pause all immigration and start to evaluate the different pathways in and what’s working and what’s not working,” Glen Ellyn resident Niki Conforti said.

Conforti’s rival for the Republican nomination in the 6th District, Shorewood resident Skylar Duensing, said immigration agents need to prioritize capturing violent criminals and not migrants who “just want to achieve the American dream.”

The candidates spoke with the Daily Herald about immigration, foreign policy and other issues during separate online interviews.

Conforti, an energy consultant who also ran for the 6th District seat in 2022 and 2024, called herself “an America first candidate.” During her last campaign, she defended then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance for perpetuating debunked claims that immigrants were eating pets and wild animals in an Ohio town.

In her recent interview, Conforti blamed immigrants living here illegally for “a lot of the chaos that we’re seeing in different parts of the country.”

Conforti called the U.S. immigration system “archaic” and said policies need to be reformed, starting with “a deep dive” into the visas the U.S. offers foreign citizens. Pathways into the U.S. should be reduced, she said.

“There’s been a lot of abuse in that area,” Conforti said. “We can’t take the whole world onto our land.”

Conforti expressed empathy for would-be immigrants waiting 10 years for a green card.

“We need to look at shortening that for those people that meet the criteria, come here for the right reasons and want to give back to America,” she said.

Duensing blames former President Joe Biden “and the radical left Democrats” for creating an immigration crisis in the U.S. He also accused unspecified nonprofit groups and the Chinese Communist Party of fomenting mass immigration into the U.S.

“Overwhelmingly, the American people know that we need to have strong borders and know that we need to have safe communities,” said Duensing, a college student and conservative activist.

Still, Duensing believes the immigration process should be simplified. Different pathways to citizenship for immigrants are needed, too, he said.

Duensing also said U.S. immigration policy must be compassionate. Agents shouldn’t use racial profiling to target possible violators, he said. Rather, immigration agents should target people who are pedophiles, rapists, drug traffickers and members of notorious international gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.

The 6th District includes parts of Cook and DuPage counties. The incumbent, U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove, is being challenged by Chicagoan Joey Ruzevich for the Democratic nomination.

Illinois’ primary Election Day is March 17. Early voting has begun.