Posted on 07/19/2010 5:52:22 AM PDT by Kaslin
The leadership of this country has chosen to annoy and exasperate many of our citizens by refusing to address the immigration issue. In this era of terrorism, where a porous border places the safety of all Americans at risk, we need to put together a comprehensive plan to resolve this issue. I firmly believe that this is possible.
When President Bush proposed comprehensive immigration reform, I initially supported his ideas. I soon learned that I was wrong. Americans overwhelmingly believe that before any other steps are taken, the border must be secured. Congress reacted to this sentiment in 2006 by authorizing construction of an effective border fence – a project quickly terminated by Barack Obama – but nothing has really changed: Americans still want secure borders. In 1986, we were promised that illegal immigration would be rigorously limited by the Simpson-Mazzoli Act. Those promises were not kept and the level of distrust is not only palpable, it is justified.
It’s clear that the first part of a solution must be border security. A three-year project to complete construction of a barrier on the Southern border, including appropriate allocation of federal funds, must be initiated. These three years can be used to straighten out the horrendous record-keeping within the INS, and to confront the thousands of people living here on expired visas. It is a joke that we focus so much on Latin Americans when people from anywhere on the planet can arrive here with a legal permit and then just disappear without any fear of getting caught. You can rest assured that there are plenty of Canadians in this country way beyond their legal limit.
We are also going to have to adopt some form of national identification card (which may be partially addressed by the introduction of secure drivers’ licenses currently under way in several states). There is no person more distrusting of big government than this author, but we have to get real and recognize that we will never have a long-term resolution of the immigration issue without being able to identify whether someone is here legally or not. We all understand that counterfeiting will happen. As sophisticated as we make the card, some smart crook will eventually figure out how to forge it. To argue against ID cards because of potential fraud is as silly as not updating our currency because criminals may find new ways to copy it. Yes, it may be a small imposition on our citizens to get federal identification cards – although if driver’s licenses can be employed, the imposition is minor at best – but there is no reasonable alternative to handling this matter without them.
Another provision that must be legislated is a ban on anchor babies. There is no rational justification for our present policy. Yes, I read the constitution and it does not say that anyone can just come here legally or illegally, have a kid, and then claim that the baby is a citizen. I have never seen a poll on this issue, but it would shock me if more than 15% of Americans thought anchor babies were an acceptable policy.
The remaining component of the solution must be to develop a policy that addresses the future of illegal immigrants currently living within our borders. While this contentious issue will likely be the most difficult to resolve, I believe that there are opportunities for an effective compromise. Some Americans want these people to go to the back of the immigration line or just leave. Many Republicans believe that Democrats want to legalize these people so they can turn them into reliable, lifelong Democratic voters. Personally, I don’t see how anyone can come from a country with completely dysfunctional leadership and then vote for the party of big government, but that is just me.
The solution is to provide a choice to those people here illegally. They can go to the back of the line, or they can stay under the following conditions: 1) They will become citizens in 10 years. 2) They will never be able to vote (remember that they came here illegally and have chosen to stay here in an extraordinary fashion, and thus have not earned the right to vote). 3) They must maintain both automobile and medical insurance, verified by the INS or a related agency. 4) They can receive not governmental benefits – no unemployment, no food stamps, no WIC, and no welfare. If they do not abide by these rules, they forfeit their right to stay here. They can participate in the Social Security and Medicare systems while they are earning their citizenship.
People will have to jettison the idea of collecting back taxes, which quite frankly is a silly and impractical idea. We will never be able to reliably determine what their actual earnings were, and so we will never know how much they owe.
This plan can be drafted into a bill of less than 50 pages – not one of those insidious 2,000-page monstrosities. Both sides will be yelling and screaming about some aspects, but these are all real and reasonable proposals which will not leave a bloodbath in their wake. Mr. Obama, now it’s your turn.
..if the government can’t or won’t find them....offer a bounty...I could make a few thousand today.....looking out my window, I could make $100.00 right now at $20.00 a piece.
I don’t like the idea of legislatively stripping citizens of the right to vote, regardless of the circumstances under which they achieved their citizenship. It can be used as precedent against other groups by other Congresses - Republican or Democrat.
This is an amnesty and the idea that they can become citizens in 10 years and not be able to vote is nonsense. It creates a second class citizen and the courts would throw it out in a minute.
Any legislation that legalizes the status of those who broke our laws by entering our country illegally and allows them to stay is amnesty. We must not only prevent the Democrats and some moderate Republicans from hijacking the meaning of the word amnesty, but the public must be made aware about the true impact of an amnesty. The Heritage Foundation concluded that the cost of amnesty alone would be $2.6 trillion. And the number of additional LEGAL immigrants who would join those who were the recipients of amnesty through chain migration, i.e., family reunification, would approach 70 million over a 20-year period, assuming there are only 12 million illegal aliens. We cannot assimilate such numbers. An amnesty would destroy the United States of America with the stroke of a pen.
Conferring rights and privileges upon illegal aliens has a corrosive effect on the Rule of Law, the very foundation of our Republic. It is also a slap in the face to legal immigrants who have followed the rules and obeyed the laws. There are millions of immigrants waiting their turn overseas to enter the U.S. legally and approximately 40 million immigrants living in the U.S., most of whom followed the law.
We tried a one-time amnesty in 1986. It didn't work. Amnesty just encourages more illegal aliens to enter so they can be the recipients of the next amnesty.
1 - SECURE THE BORDER
2- Give AMERICANS back their jobs.
3 - When unemployment rate is back to 4%, offer a guest worker program.... NO VOTING RIGHTS for guest workers.
4 - Make appropriate changes to the current application for citizenship for ALL coutries... not just one (i.e. Mexico)
5 - Companies who hire “guest workers” must pay for their healthcare and education... etc.
Start with the 2006 Secure Fence Act and implement as promised by Congress. The rest is easy once the leak is capped.
What are Mexican, Canadian, Salvadoran, Nicaurauguan, French, German requirements for immigrants to renter, to stay, and to become citizens?
Maybe there is our example. Surely there could be no criticisms if we used “international law”
What are Mexican, Canadian, Salvadoran, Nicaurauguan, French, German requirements for immigrants to enter, to stay, and to become citizens?
Maybe there is our example. Surely there could be no criticisms if we used “international law”
This is not a bad plan above. My only disagreement is with the national ID card. The problem with that, as we have learned with drivers licenses and passports, is that the national ID will be used (meaning revoked) to punish individuals for completely unrelated actions, or inactions, to immigration status, as in the case of court ordered child support.
But otherwise he covers voting and welfare pretty well. The problem might be the courts. They are likely to demand that legalized illegals get the right to vote and welfare...etc
Use landmines and sharpshooters along the border. Problem solved.
Some good ideas. In terms of dealing with the Southern border, I’d also give Mexico some negative pressuer against permitting such an open border on their side: bill Mexico for the costs of assistance to its citizens here illegally, and take it out of their foreign aid if they won’t pay. Mexico receives a huge amount of its income from payments sent back by its nationals in this country, and it should be expected to do at least this much in return.
Just for Latin Americans, particularly Mexicans, I’d also put in a short-term visa program so that people could come here legally, work, and then go back home after a couple of years. Or if they liked it here and fit in, then they could apply for a different status. But I think you’d find that most of them simply want to be here long enough to make money and don’t really want to stay. The unions are very opposed to this, of course, but I think it would be a good solution to meet two needs (ours for labor and that of Mexico for income). I also think that regularizing Latin American illegals already here might consist of giving some of them short term visas (3 yrs or so), assuming they’re employed and have no criminal record, rather than immediate permanent residence.
I was glad to see him mention the visa overstayers, because a lot of them are more of a problem than day laborers: they are much more consciously flouting the law, because a lot of them already have deportation orders against them (but the courts just “release them pending deportation,” which of course never happens), and a lot of them also come from countries that are our enemies. Some of the terrorist attacks on US soil in recent years have been perpetrated by visa overstayers. I personally think all visa overstayers should be deported immediately and should have to reapply if they want to come back...but with a penalty for having ignored the laws in the first place.
Also, get rid of family reunion! That, along with the anchor babies thing, is probably the biggest loophole. It’s what Obama is using now to bring in hundreds of thousands of people from Islamic hell-holes in Africa and the Middle East - legally. So I think we have to reexamine some of the “legal” policies too.
” Personally, I don’t see how anyone can come from a country with completely dysfunctional leadership and then vote for the party of big government, but that is just me. “
Then, you are an IDIOT.
Or just one step: Jail Employers.
There should be draconian fines to companies and individuals that use illegal labor. One the illegals find out that there is no work for them to do, they will leave.
This was where Congress screwed Reagan. They gave amnesty (and citizenship) to the estimated 3 million illegals in 1986 with the proviso that the border would be secured. Today, some 12 - 20 more illegals later, we're still waiting for Congress to complete the other half of the bargain and secure our border(s).
Explain to me again why we believe a single word that these people say??? I just LOVE fairy tales!!!
“The solution is to provide a choice to those people here illegally. They can go to the back of the line, or they can stay under the following conditions: 1) They will become citizens in 10 years. 2) They will never be able to vote (remember that they came here illegally and have chosen to stay here in an extraordinary fashion, and thus have not earned the right to vote). 3) They must maintain both automobile and medical insurance, verified by the INS or a related agency. 4) They can receive not governmental benefits – no unemployment, no food stamps, no WIC, and no welfare. If they do not abide by these rules, they forfeit their right to stay here. They can participate in the Social Security and Medicare systems while they are earning their citizenship. “
You LIKE this?
Yep. That's exactly right!!
And would be the final nail in the creation of the (dis)United States of Amexico!! I like the way you think!!
How about just removing the ability to vote only while someone is taking government funds. Have a student loan no voting until you pay it back, take an SSI check - no voting for you, work for a government agency - no voting for you as long as you work there.
This would eliminate the largest problem we have ie people attempting to vote themselves a raise from the public treasuries.
This is just warmed over bull$hit.
1) e-verify
2) Fines and then revocation of buisiness lic. for repeat offenders.(business owners)
Illegals will self deport. Anyone who thinks illegal immigrants will follow rules, or that congress will enforce ANYTHING is an utter jackass.
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