NORTH COUNTY -- Illegal immigration and education issues would be the hallmarks of political newcomer Delecia Holt's congressional representation.

Those are key issues she cited in response to a questionnaire from the North County Times.

She wrote that she supports an immigration reform bill that would establish a process for illegal aliens to gain permanent residency and citizenship status.

The 44-year-old San Diego resident also said she would call on charity groups to serve as liaisons between the federal, state and local governments and provide support services.

Opposed to a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, Holt wrote that she would oppose a guest-worker program and that enforcement efforts need to be stepped up against employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens.

"Employers should be required to submit all potential employees to the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and Interpol for background checks," she wrote.

At the same time, Holt said illegal immigrants should have the same rights as legal U.S. residents.

"They should be encouraged to seek asylum in this country, citizenship and pledge to protect this country with their lives if necessary," Holt wrote. "We are all in this together and the security of our country should be our main priority regardless of where people come from."

Turning to education, Holt wrote that the impact of illegal immigration on school budgets and the number of students per classroom are her top concerns. She also said too little is being spent by the federal government on public education.

"Allocate more monies to districts that have a disproportionate student/teacher ratio," she wrote.

She also said she would continue to push for standardized tests.

"Utilize the assessment department of the school district," Holt wrote. "We as a country have gotten away from accountability and involvement, and the end result has been students that feel disenfranchised from their families, schools and communities.

"Statistics show that regardless of a child's socioeconomic background, if provided a nurturing learning environment that child will thrive."

On defense issues, Holt said she supported sending troops to Iraq but called for initiatives so that top government officials have a better understanding of those opposed to U.S. policies.

"We cannot win the war on terror until we understand the hearts of our enemy," Holt wrote.

She also called for increasing the pay of those in the military to that of U.S. representatives, and for annual retirement pay of no less than $40,000.

"I strongly believe that if a congressperson earns an average annual salary of $160,000, then our men and women in uniform should as well," she wrote. "Until we provide a decent living wage for our military personnel, we cannot expect them to live below the poverty level and risk their lives."

Holt wrote she would oppose shared airport use at any military base and called on the private sector to step up its involvement in finding a long-term solution to the region's airport needs.

Opposed to privatizing Social Security, Holt said she would support allowing some of that money to be invested in individual retirement accounts.

"I picture a system that is balanced between individual payments into a centralized Social Security account with stock market, pension funds, money markets and bonds and monitored by a reputable fund manager."

She wrote that she supports the changes to Medicare made this year but called for legislation to reduce drug prices.

"We must also reduce the administrative costs of pharmaceutical companies and allow the legalized import of Canadian prescription drugs," Holt wrote. "And Congress must require that American pharmaceutical companies not be allowed to overprice medications."

She also said she would work to ensure that anyone without health insurance is covered by the federal government and require all employers to provide expanded health insurance.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com. To comment, go to nctimes.com.

Name: Delecia Holt

Age: 44

Occupation: Intelligence security analyst

Party: Republican

Residence: San Diego