On Illegal Immigration...

Okay... first things first... on the oft-repeated phrase that illegals are "doing jobs that Americans won’t do":

• I have a relative who put helped put herself through college by cleaning peoples’ houses for five years. in other words... that annoying phrase is a load of B.S.

• Remember the post-Hurricane Katrina construction jobs that many citizens from the northern portion of the country headed down south to fill? But they were turned away because the jobs were filled already by illegal aliens.

• Remember the recent raid on several Swift & Co. Meat Packing plants in six states because of their hiring illegal aliens. Subsequently, they posted job opportunities at $18/hour --- and were overrun with vast numbers of applicants willing to take the jobs that were previously unavailble to them.

• Less than 10% of agriculture (i.e., strawberries, grapes, etc.) requires humans to do the picking. The fast majority of agricultural work is done mechanically.

• Costs will not drastically increase if actual U.S. citizen farm workers did this work vs. illegal farm workers (fuel costs has a much greater affect on overall costs).

• The Juan vs Jose analogy (a legal first generation migrant farm worker vs. an illegal immigrant). Illegal immigrants severely diminish job opportunities for legal immigrants, and also suppress the available wages for legal immigrants when the few jobs do become available.

• Then there is the strain (fiscally as well as administratively) on key social services such as hospital/medical and education systems due to the fact that most illegals do not have health benefits, nor are they paying local/state/federal income taxes (with the exception of sales taxes from their extremely low income level).


What needs to be done?

First, fully enforce the laws that are already on the books!!! This includes:

• Building the full fence on the southern border (double fence with road in between), plus upgrade of technology for remote/underground/infrared detection and surveillance, etc. (for northern as well as southern borders).

• Increase # of border agents & port inspection agents (all borders: north and south, Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts).

• Aggressively investigate, prosecute and fine businesses that are hiring illegals. The worst and repeat offenders should be first in line to be investigated and prosecuted.

NOTE: On that last point --- once the illegal job hiring market dries up it would cause an automatic natural exodus of a large portion of illegals who have no interest in becoming U.S. citizens, and who will head back to their countries of origin on their own.

• Full integration of background check information into a central database.

• Full background checks with reasonable timeframes for said checks (not just within 24 hours). Checks go through all available channels, authorities and agencies: local, state, federal, international.

• City sanctuary policies revoked (e.g., L.A. not allowing it’s police officers to inform the feds when they come across any illegal).


Next?

• Political asylum opportunities on a case-by-case basis.

• Close scrutiny on anyone who may have links, ties or sympathies to any terrorist agenda.

• Any illegal immigrant convicted with a felony is automatically deported at the expense of the receiving country.

• Any remaining illegal immigrant must choose whether to become a U.S. citizen or to return to their country of origin.

Those that choose to become a U.S. citizen must:

a) learn to speak, read and write English

b) go through the standard procedures to become a citizen

c) pay a fine for having come here illegally and not having paid income taxes (this fine is to be paid either as a lump sum or as an automatic deduction from their paychecks until said fine is paid in full).


In addition, the following “trigger” automatically goes into effect:

For every illegal immigrant who is to become legal, there should be a commensurate reduction in new legal immigrants who are allowed to become a U.S. citizen.

For example: Supposing there are 10,000 illegal immigrants from Italy – my own ancestry came from that country. Let’s say that 2000 are felons who get automatically deported. Let’s then say that, of the remaining illegals, 1000 want to return to Italy. This leaves us with 7000 illegals who want to become U.S. citizens. But suppose that the U.S. only allots 3500 legal immigrants from Italy each year. That means that for the next two years NO legal immigrants are allowed into the U.S. from Italy.

If any country takes issue with this procedure, they have the right to choose one of two options: either except this procedure as is, or take back all of the illegal immigrants from their country and have them “get in line” like the rest of the potential legal immigrants who are already waiting in line.

There must be a cut-off date set (in the past, not the future) as to who is allowed to take this opportunity to become a U.S. citizen (e.g., if a person has been in the U.S. prior to Jan 1, 2007). Any illegal immigrant after said date is automatically deported unless political asylum issues are involved.

No new increases in the number of “legal” immigrations per year for each country. In other words, if in 2006 we allow up to 5000 people from a given country to apply for U.S. citizenship, this benchmark cannot be increased until at least two years after the U.S. has fully absorbed any current illegals from said country who officially become legal citizens through the above stated processes.

No new types of visas (e.g., Y and Z visas) are to be created. They are unnecessary. In fact, current procedures, documentation and visa types/applications need to be streamlined and simplified.


IT AIN'T THAT HARD TO DO! It stops businesses that are currently hiring illegals from breaking the law. It opens up jobs for legal citizens to get, and at a just wage. It deports illegals who are hardened criminals. It returns back to their countries of origin other illegals who have no interest in becoming citizens. It allows those who DO want to become citizens to do so in a proper and systematic way, and it requires a natural assimilation into society. It also gives them a better opportunity to grow economically as they will now be paid legal wages and benefits by U.S. businesses. With them getting benefits and paying taxes in these legal jobs, there will be less of a financial strain on medical/hospital and education services in the communities they reside.

UPDATE: To add one more point to all of the above --- in order to get to the root of the problem of illegal immigration, you need to address the fact that certain countries are being run by corrupt regimes and/or failed governments. They are not doing what is necessary to improve the social & economic conditions for their citizens, otherwise there would be no need for such a regular and massive exodus. Pressure must be put on those troublesome countries to correct their problems, diminish their corruption, and implement true democratic reforms. Various types of incentives can be dangled in front of these countries as an enticement so that both sides can benefit from an overall improvement of their respective societies.

Also, here is a link to Sen. Sessions' "20 Loopholes" in the current (and abominably bad & misguided) Senate Immigration Bill that (for the time being, as of tonight's failed cloture vote) has been taken off the table. It's more like a TKO than a pure KO for the bill, and it may rear it's ugly head again in the future.