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Ben Carson: Remove the Illegal-Immigration Carrots. If you game the system, so will the illegals.
National Review ^ | 06/18/2014 | Dr. Ben Carson

Posted on 06/18/2014 6:24:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

In 2012, the current administration made it clear that certain unaccompanied illegal minors would not be deported if caught. This helped create an atmosphere of tolerance that would be conducive to the current rash of illegal dumping of thousands of children from south of the border into the United States. Now we have a humanitarian crisis that appears to have been manufactured for political reasons.

One would not have to be incredibly bright to predict that families in South and Central America, as well as in Mexico, would recognize a veiled invitation to get their children into the United States with little chance of deportation. Of course, the media are asking opponents of the administration for solutions to this crisis. Almost anything these opponents suggest will be either harsh, making them appear cruel and callous, or weak, making them appear to be amnesty supporters. Either way, they will take a political hit.

Meanwhile, the administration can stay above the fray and receive the political benefit of gratitude from many legal and illegal immigrants. It’s a clever and effective ploy with the added benefit of redistributing even more American wealth. It remains to be seen how many people will be hoodwinked.

We all have heard it said many times that America is a land of immigrants, some voluntary and some involuntary. We have plenty of space in our country, but insufficient jobs and insufficient resources to support everyone who wants to come here. When we see innocent children used as political pawns, it still tugs at our heartstrings, which is the intent. The real question is: What are we going to do about it?

The combination of immigration reform’s being a tough issue and a political football has led to governmental stalemates and no useful solutions for decades. To begin to solve this problem, we must have some understanding of why it exists.

Despite all of its problems, America is still the place of dreams. As such, it is small wonder that so many from other nations would like to live here. The benefits of an American domicile are so great that they currently outweigh issues of legality.

Immigrating is relatively easy for those in proximity to the United States — we have porous borders, and it is easy for illegals to hide and obtain fraudulent identification after they have penetrated the border. Although there is some fear of deportation, unenthusiastic and inconsistent enforcement of immigration laws is the expectation. Further incentives for illegal immigration are easy enrollment in public schools, easy employment for those willing to take jobs that others don’t want, easy access to health care, and easy acquisition of public support through welfare programs. These and other inducements produce an osmotic effect that attracts ever more people to our land.

Any discussion of immigration reform should include bipartisan solutions to these inducements. If these issues are not addressed, solutions will fall short. On the other hand, if all of these issues are addressed firmly and consistently, the osmotic effect will be reversed. Just as people found a way to get here, they would find a way to leave on their own, and others would be less tempted to attempt illegal entry.

Detractors will say that if it were that simple, it already would have been done, and we wouldn’t be having this discussion. What they fail to account for is the fact that the issues have not been addressed.

A national guest-worker program makes sense and seems to work well in Canada. Noncitizens would have to apply for a guest-worker permit and have a guaranteed job awaiting them. Taxes would be paid at a rate commensurate with other U.S. workers, and special visas would allow for easy entry and egress across borders. Guest-worker status would be granted to individuals and not to groups.

People already here illegally could apply for guest-worker status from outside of the country, meaning they would have to leave first. They should in no way be rewarded for having broken our laws, but if they are wise, they would arrange with their employer before they leave to immediately offer them a legal job as soon as their application is received. When they return, they still would not be U.S. citizens, but they would be legal, and they would be paying taxes. Only jobs that are vacant as a result of a lack of interest by American citizens should be eligible for the guest-worker program.

It is essential that employers bear some responsibility for making sure that no illegal immigrants are hired. Employers who break the rules should receive swift, severe, and consistent punishment that constitutes a real deterrent and not a mere inconvenience. A second infraction should be a criminal offense and treated as such.

All of this is irrelevant unless we have secure borders. There is much that can be learned from security personnel in prisons and other secured facilities, and there is a great deal of smart technology that could be employed to achieve secure borders. It is a matter of will rather than ability.

As long as we reward people who break laws, they will continue to break laws. We do need a continual flow of immigrants, but choosers need not be beggars. We make decisions based on our needs. People who refuse to comply with the rules must forfeit chances of legalization in the future. Anyone caught engaging in voter fraud should be immediately deported and have his citizenship revoked.

The point is this: We must create a system that disincentivizes illegal immigration and upholds the rule of law while providing us with a steady stream of immigrants from other nations who will strengthen our society. Let’s solve the problem and stop playing political football.

— Dr. Ben Carson is professor emeritus of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Universit


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aliens; bencarson; illegals; immigration
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To: ZULU

We don’t need more low-skill workers for decades, at least, and probably we won’t ever again need more.


21 posted on 06/18/2014 7:05:51 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: 9YearLurker

Absolutely NOT. But in the pantheon of issues and the understanding that finite resources of time and “money” limit our ability to resist the dark side, the RTKABA trumps damn near everything else.


22 posted on 06/18/2014 7:09:00 AM PDT by Dick Bachert (Ignorance is NOT BLISS. It is the ROAD TO SERFDOM! We're on a ROAD TRIP!!)
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To: 9YearLurker

Absolutely NOT. But in the pantheon of issues and the understanding that finite resources of time and “money” limit our ability to resist the dark side, the RTKABA trumps damn near everything else.


23 posted on 06/18/2014 7:09:25 AM PDT by Dick Bachert (Ignorance is NOT BLISS. It is the ROAD TO SERFDOM! We're on a ROAD TRIP!!)
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To: 9YearLurker

He isn’t pro-Amnesty. He says they have to leave the country and apply for guest-worker status. That’s a lot different than pardoning every last illegal and allowing them to stay.


24 posted on 06/18/2014 7:10:14 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (Hitlery: Incarnation of evil.)
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To: Graewoulf
I see him going out more like Cody Jarrett (oh, that name), another psycho with Mommy and Daddy problems. Just a blaze of White Heat nihilism.


25 posted on 06/18/2014 7:12:27 AM PDT by Paine in the Neck (Socialism consumes EVERYTHING)
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To: Dick Bachert

I’d say you’re being rather short-sighted then. Ben doesn’t say anything about the illegals who have become legal guest workers by taking a quick trip home to visit relatives not being able to apply for citizenship. And with them and their subsequent family members brought in through chain migration, you can expect a permanent liberal, Democratic majority here in the once-great USA.


26 posted on 06/18/2014 7:14:40 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: Paine in the Neck; MeshugeMikey; cripplecreek; Diogenes; Lady Jag; All

PERFECT!

BTW, why are all Dictators so “misunderstood?”


27 posted on 06/18/2014 7:15:49 AM PDT by Graewoulf (Democrats' Obamacare Socialist Health Insur. Tax violates U.S. Constitution AND Anti-Trust Law.)
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To: GrandJediMasterYoda

No it isn’t. All he’s saying is they have to go home and visit their family as a magical means to becoming legal and having all their many identity fraud and other transgressions forgotten. Sure, they may be mere ‘guest workers’ here in the US before they complete the citizenship process, but he wouldn’t even bar them from that.

This is a pure and complete amnesty.


28 posted on 06/18/2014 7:16:13 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: Dick Bachert

The beauty of Dr. Carson is that even if he was totally against guns, he’d never force it on other people. He believes in the Constitution.


29 posted on 06/18/2014 7:22:19 AM PDT by Kenny
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To: Kenny
The beauty of Dr. Carson is that even if he was totally against guns, (Which he is) he’d never force it on other people

And you know this is how he'd behave because?

30 posted on 06/18/2014 7:25:15 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: Paine in the Neck

Shouldn’t that be BLACK COOL?


31 posted on 06/18/2014 7:34:13 AM PDT by Dick Bachert (Ignorance is NOT BLISS. It is the ROAD TO SERFDOM! We're on a ROAD TRIP!!)
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To: from occupied ga

I believe that because he said it. He said his beliefs would not interfere with the Constitution.


32 posted on 06/18/2014 7:40:59 AM PDT by Kenny
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To: from occupied ga

I believe that because he said it. He said his beliefs would not interfere with the Constitution. There’s not going to be a candidate who meets every single litmus test purists come up with. If they believe in the Constitution, that’s a win.


33 posted on 06/18/2014 7:42:05 AM PDT by Kenny
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To: Kenny
I believe that because he said it

There are two things in government. that which is said, and that which is done. "If you like your plan you can keep your plan." as just one example. Personally I could never bring myself to support an anti-gunner no matter what his stance on other issues.

34 posted on 06/18/2014 7:56:54 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: SeekAndFind; AllAmericanGirl44; Bigg Red; duckman; EDINVA; ELS; fatnotlazy; gaijin; Graewoulf; ...
Ben Carson *Ping*

Ben Caron photo BenCarson_zps8b233ca1.jpg

Please Freepmail to get on or off this list…

35 posted on 06/18/2014 8:05:43 AM PDT by jazusamo (Sometimes I think that this is an era when sanity has become controversial: Thomas Sowell)
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To: jazusamo

Thanks for the ping.

IMHO the US should contact the countries of origin and tell them to pick up their kids. Why should the US pay to keep these kids or to send them back.


36 posted on 06/18/2014 8:16:59 AM PDT by fatnotlazy
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To: fatnotlazy

Absolutely, and if those countries won’t we should transport them back at our expense, it would be a fraction of the cost of letting them remain here.

Then deduct that cost from the foreign aid we give each of those countries every year or cut them off completely.


37 posted on 06/18/2014 8:23:06 AM PDT by jazusamo (Sometimes I think that this is an era when sanity has become controversial: Thomas Sowell)
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To: from occupied ga

Like liberals, you’ve selected one comment Dr. Carson made and ignored everything else the man has said. Stop labeling people ‘anti-gunners’ when you have no evidence to support that.

And please don’t tell me about the comment he made re: not wanting a nut in the city to have a gun. He’s clarified that over and over. His not wanting that gun aimed at him or his does not translate to anti 2nd Amendment. In fact, he said he would never push gun control because of the Constitution and those who would disarm to control.


38 posted on 06/18/2014 8:26:09 AM PDT by Kenny
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To: Dick Bachert
My problem is that he’s squishy on the 2nd Amendment.

Just like Reagan who signed the FOPA with the unconstitutional Hughes Amendment
...just like President Bush Sr, who sided with ATF JBTs and signed import bans
Just like Clinton who signed the AWB and Brady Acts
Just like Bush Jr who did almost NOTHING to repeal 70 years of anti-gun laws (letting AWB expire was good)
....just like Obama using executive orders....

I want to hear a POTUS contender come out and say that he will sign any legislation that repeals NFA,GCA, and FOPA, et. al.....but the GOPe will NOT run that person.

I'll take Carson, I just hope he picks people close to him that are pro-RKBA.....like Ted Nugent, DHS Secreteary on 20 JAN 2017. Make me Director of ATF and it will be a federal-sponsored entity of JPFO or GOA ;). I'll also disarm my ATF agents, tell congress about the "accuracy" of the NFRTR, and declare another amnesty for NFA records for the next 4 (or 8) years. I'll also urge the DHS Secretary and POTUS Carson to give a blanket pardon to anyone who has been convicted of NFA, GCA, FOPA laws. That is....until Congress gets its act together and repeals all infringing gun control laws.

39 posted on 06/18/2014 8:50:22 AM PDT by DCBryan1 (No realli, moose bytes can be quite nasti!!)
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To: SeekAndFind; All

.

.

STOP THE INSANITY!
Flood the governor’s office and your rep’s offices with demands that something be done to secure our borders against the current massive invasion of illegal aliens!

SIGN THE PETITION;
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/request-for-immediate-texas-border-control/sign.html

OFFICE OF THE TEXAS GOVERNOR:
http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact/

Breittbart:
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/06/17/Perry-on-Fox-We-don-t-have-the-resources-to-secure-the-Texas-Border

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3169296/posts

.


40 posted on 06/18/2014 9:35:08 AM PDT by patriot08 (NATIVE TEXAN (girl type))
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