A Reasonable Immigration Policy and a Solution to the Illegal Immigration Problem

     To start with, illegal aliens are doing something illegal! And, they know it. I’m against amnesty.

     Until recent years, the illegal aliens did not exist in large numbers. See chart below.

Regarding the future, see the following Pew Research Center report findings::

While I am in favor of a reasonable immigrations policy, I do not wish to see our population grow in the manner or to the extent described in the Pew Research Center findings.

Our country did just fine before the tremendous growth in immigration. Some people say that our economy cannot survive without the illegal immigrants. I disagree. Curtailing illegal immigration could slow the growth of the economy. So be it. You can’t have it all.

From early 2001 to early 2007, the Republicans controlled the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. Illegal immigration flourished. Why? Because the employers and retailers that funded campaigns of Republican candidates (including Saxby Chambliss) wanted it that way. The employers wanted the illegal aliens to be here, but they did not want them to be here legally. Now, the Democrats want to make them all legal, so that they will vote Democratic. So, if you don’t like illegal immigration, your government has failed you.  See:  Letter to the AJC Editor.  Senator Saxby Chambliss and others with Senator Ted Kennedy regarding immigration reform: 

As a group, I think that Hispanics are hard workers. However, whenever too many people live in a given area, living conditions worsen. As many of the children of these immigrants do not speak English, our public schools suffer. As housing slows, many of these illegal immigrants will seek other jobs. Federal law requires that individuals be given emergency medical treatment, regardless of ability to pay. Many employers and retailers want the illegal immigrants to be here. I would press for the following provisions:

1. The borders should be secured (including the Canadian border). A wall should exist, along with guards, on certain sections of the Mexican border, to stop further illegal immigration. The guards could be troops brought back to the U.S. upon closure of a majority of our foreign military bases.  After an initial mass audit program of employers likely to employ illegal aliens (described in 2 below), employers should be audited sporadically to find illegal aliens, with substantial penalties for the hiring of illegal aliens.

2. Family and personal VISAs (potentially followed by citizenship at a later date) should continue to be made available. Ordinary reasonable annual immigration should be permitted from each country. (Many young western Europeans may desire to immigrate.) Students who have excelled at a college or university in the U.S. should be offered citizenship. Farming labor VISAs should continue to be available. VISAs should also be made available to: (a) students; (b) people who have special skills that are lacked by a sufficient number of fully capable Americans to fulfill job needs (e.g. nurses); and (c) individuals needed to perform unskilled labor to the extent, and only to the extent, that the needs will not be filled by Americans at a cost that is reasonably close to the amount paid to illegal immigrants. Means: Under federal instruction, after implementation of a verifiable work card program (applicable only to people employed in jobs in industries in which illegal immigrants are known to work; the card could be used only for work verification purposes), employers would be audited under a massive program and given a choice of significant penalties or making of employment offers at a rate of 1.33 times the amount paid to illegal aliens. Employers would likely offer jobs on their own terms in advance of a potential audit. Some Americans will leave jobs to accept 1.33x offers. With a short-term exception for people who lose their jobs, simultaneously limit availability of welfare and food stamps to people who cannot care for themselves.

3. The illegal immigrants now here should be allowed to apply for the unskilled jobs specified above not filled by Americans. They should be allowed to take such jobs only if they pay a penalty for breaking the law and a fee for not having to “wait in line” to receive a VISA. The penalty for breaking the law could be $5,000. The fee for not having to wait in line could be $1,500. Also, they would need to have paid all federal taxes, penalties and interest owed. Only those people who have paid their taxes, plus interest and penalties for all years here should be considered. The problem is: how can you determine with certainty when an illegal immigrant first began working and making money in the U.S.? You can’t. So, a system needs to be established, such as the following: the illegal alien must show all tax payments and income for the past four (4) years, and must have paid all federal tax, interest and penalties. If he/she cannot do so, a charge of the lesser of taxes plus penalties and interest due over the past 4 years or $10,000 would need to be paid for an illegal immigrant to be considered for a VISA. Taxes owed could be financed by the U.S. Treasury over a few years, with interest. Lottery winners who paid their fines, fees and taxes would receive VISAs and verifiable work cards. Immediate family members as of a date before the change would also receive VISAs. All remaining illegal aliens should then be deported in a humanitarian way. An organized system of bus transportation and reservations could be established.