GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - At an event in Green Bay Friday afternoon, U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde delved into some of his ideas on what needs to be done to address the country's immigration system. Hovde joined former Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, former spokesperson for the Department of State Morgan Ortagus, and Wisconsin's eighth congressional district candidate Tony Wied for a roundtable discussion on national security. Holtwood Campground in Oconto opening up reservations for 2025 NFL Draft The panel addressed a variety of topics including the situation in the Middle East, the War in Ukraine, and how the U.S. should approach China. The topic they spent the most time discussing was immigration and how the U.S. should address the situation at the southern border. "I think that we have to fix our asylum laws," Hovde told Local 5 News. "We have to close our southern border because we've created a humanitarian crisis. The fentanyl crisis is just flooding this poison over our southern border."  There are differing estimates about how many people are in the United States illegally, but generally, the number is between 10-20 million people. Local 5 News asked Hovde what should happen to people who are here illegally. "So we need to target those who have committed crime," Hovde said. "Anybody who committed a crime before entering our country or committed a crime illegally while here needs to be removed. That's where we have to put the focus first." As far as what to do with people who came here illegally but don't have a criminal background and haven't committed a crime while in the United States, Hovde had this to say. "We still have to force them to go back through the legal immigration process because it's unfair," said Hovde. "Think of the amount of people from all around the world who spent the time and went through all the hoops to come here legally."  Former president Donald Trump and other Republicans have supported mass deportations of illegal immigrants. Trump has proposed using local law enforcement and the military to make this happen. Hovde is competing with incumbent Tammy Baldwin for the state's U.S. Senate seat. In a statement to Local 5 News, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Democratic Party said that "Eric Hovde is an out-of-state, out-of-touch California megamillionaire who insults the people of Wisconsin every time he opens his mouth–from saying people in nursing homes aren’t at a point to vote, to saying people who struggle with their weight should be forced to pay more for healthcare.” Baldwin has introduced several pieces of legislation to address the situation on the border, including her 'Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act,' which would increase staffing and improve technology at the border to detect illicit drugs that are being smuggled across. Want to raise money and smash old cars? Attend License to Cruise in downtown Appleton She also supported a bipartisan border and immigration bill that ultimately didn't get passed. "Every state is a border state today," Hovde said. "Let's be very clear about that because a lot of times people ask, 'Well, in Wisconsin, do you really feel the impact?' and Wisconsin is feeling the impact like everybody else."