**This blog entry was written previously and is being reposted here in an effort to consolidate all articles in one location**
This is the Third and final part in a series outlining a strategy to address illegal immigration. Please see Step One here and Step II, here.
Now that we have covered both stopping the flow of illegal immigrants and the regularization of those that are here; we can begin to discuss the accommodations for those caught up in the middle, through no fault of their own. I am specifically talking about illegal immigrants that were children brought illegally to the United States by their parents. You must separate the individuals into a two categories.
Regardless of Category everyone will be processed per the CERIC requirements to include fingerprints, DNA, and photo identification. They must meet the conditions for the CERIC, i.e. they have no warrants, no felony convictions and other condition previously stipulated. If they fail to meet the requirements they will be processed for deportation.
Category 1- Minor Children would be issued a CERIC. If these individuals graduate high school and have no previous criminal record they will be eligible and may apply for permanent residency at age 21. If they fail to graduate from high school they will continue under the CERIC until age 23 after which time they may apply for permanent residency.
Category 2- If the individuals in this category can show proof of graduation from US education through high school, they will have a two-year CERIC requirement and then will be eligible to apply for permanent residency status through existing procedures. Those individuals in this category who did not graduate high school will have a five-year CERIC requirement and would subsequently be eligible to apply for permanent residency.
Other special conditions that should be implemented include the following:
Any person that is eligible for a CERIC and can meet the requirements for military service may enter into the United States Armed Services. Upon honorable completion of a 4-year active duty commitment, those individuals will immediately be eligible to apply for US citizenship.
The last and final step to Immigration reform is to make the hiring of illegal immigrants prohibitively expensive in future years. This would easily be accomplished by implementing one clear, precise and ironclad law for all businesses: If you knowingly or negligently hire an illegal alien, after the implementation of this program, you shall be fined $500,000 per incident. This will make it prohibitively expensive to break the law. No business in their right mind will risk the fine to save $2.00 an hour in labor costs. This will protect the workers from exploitation and prevent future waves of illegal aliens from crossing the border looking for work. If they know that there is a close to zero chance of finding a job because no business will hire them, they will cease to look north as a viable option. Businesses will also benefit; businesses will be on an even playing field and competiveness will increase across many industries in the economy. Because all the new CERIC card holders will be legal, businesses can no longer undercut the competition by using illegal laborers. The net result will be a more reliable work force and safer working conditions for all workers. This will all happen in the marketplace, on its own. This can only be looked upon as a net positive.
In order to facilitate the verification of workers, an E-Verify type system would be set up with the information from the CERIC. Upon entry of the CERIC number the system would show the employer a photo of the owner of that number/card along with a physical description. The employer could then be assured that the individual was in fact legally eligible to work in the United States. And, absolve him of legal repercussions should fraud be subsequently discovered. This process must be simple and quick along with being inexpensive. There are no technological reasons this cannot be done. The only obstacles to establishing these policies for the employer are and will undoubtedly be political.
The underlying theme to SYSTEMATIC IMMIGRATION REFORM and the CERIC is that it is CONDITIONAL! The conditions are straightforward, fair and achievable. This is not and should not be misconstrued to be a “trap” to catch and deport anyone. It is merely a method by which illegal immigrants can prove what they never tire of telling people: “I am law-abiding and I just came here to work.” They must abide by the law, period. If they break the law, by committing a felony crime, commit a third misdemeanor crime, or a 2nd DUI, they will be processed for deportation. It is not unreasonable to ask that these immigrants follow our laws as a condition for legal status in the United States; and I believe many of them would be happy to accept these terms and end the constant anxiety of being caught and deported.
I believe that this country is the greatest nation ever devised and established by man. I wholeheartedly understand the manic rush of people to come to this great country. They are looking for, what we as Americans sometimes take for granted; the freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness. But, while I may empathize with their motivations, I cannot condone their lack of respect for the rule of law. I firmly believe that a great majority of Americans would be supportive of legislation that would adopt the concepts outlined in this series and would embrace a new wave of LEGAL immigrants, while at the same time forgive and give those who would necessarily be required to register themselves under this program an opportunity to prove that they are, in fact, law abiding and worthy of the chance to become US citizens. The People of the United States have always been and continue to be the most open, understanding, and charitable people in the world; they only ask that the laws, borders and sovereignty of the United States be respected.
This road map is not a complete solution; obviously, many details would have to be worked out. But if the general concepts were adopted and the conditions unambiguously established, it would make political, practical and common sense. Whatever its final version, the key to its success is simplicity; adding another 1000 pages of regulation and bureaucratic red tape to the already dizzyingly complicated immigration statutes would serve no purpose and would only exacerbate the problems we face today.
Finally, I must reiterate that the first and most critical step in this Systematic approach is to SECURE THE BORDER. Much like the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, you can send hundreds of skimmers and emplace hundreds of miles of barriers and booms and build all the sand levies you like, but at the end of the day they still had to stop the leak. Stopping the leak is just the first step. True recovery would have been impossible until the leak was stopped, and there is still a long recovery process forthcoming. In the same way, all the laws and regulations for both immigration and enforcement at all levels of government that are enacted won’t solve the problem if you are unwilling to stop the leak.
I challenge any and all politicians to use this roadmap of ideas as a true guide to once and for all solve the illegal immigration problem in the United States. But it will take intestinal fortitude and daring. Those that are weak of heart need not apply. The only way this problem is going to be solved it to tackle it directly and to ignore the petty political bickering and backbiting. This will take determination and a concerted effort, but it can be cone and it should be done; not only because it will solve or many of the issues associated with illegal immigration, but because it is the right thing to do.
This is the Third and final part in a series outlining a strategy to address illegal immigration. Please see Step One here and Step II, here.
Now that we have covered both stopping the flow of illegal immigrants and the regularization of those that are here; we can begin to discuss the accommodations for those caught up in the middle, through no fault of their own. I am specifically talking about illegal immigrants that were children brought illegally to the United States by their parents. You must separate the individuals into a two categories.
- Those that are still minors at the time the legislation is passed.
- Those that have resided in the United States since childhood but are now adults.
Regardless of Category everyone will be processed per the CERIC requirements to include fingerprints, DNA, and photo identification. They must meet the conditions for the CERIC, i.e. they have no warrants, no felony convictions and other condition previously stipulated. If they fail to meet the requirements they will be processed for deportation.
Category 1- Minor Children would be issued a CERIC. If these individuals graduate high school and have no previous criminal record they will be eligible and may apply for permanent residency at age 21. If they fail to graduate from high school they will continue under the CERIC until age 23 after which time they may apply for permanent residency.
Category 2- If the individuals in this category can show proof of graduation from US education through high school, they will have a two-year CERIC requirement and then will be eligible to apply for permanent residency status through existing procedures. Those individuals in this category who did not graduate high school will have a five-year CERIC requirement and would subsequently be eligible to apply for permanent residency.
Other special conditions that should be implemented include the following:
Any person that is eligible for a CERIC and can meet the requirements for military service may enter into the United States Armed Services. Upon honorable completion of a 4-year active duty commitment, those individuals will immediately be eligible to apply for US citizenship.
The last and final step to Immigration reform is to make the hiring of illegal immigrants prohibitively expensive in future years. This would easily be accomplished by implementing one clear, precise and ironclad law for all businesses: If you knowingly or negligently hire an illegal alien, after the implementation of this program, you shall be fined $500,000 per incident. This will make it prohibitively expensive to break the law. No business in their right mind will risk the fine to save $2.00 an hour in labor costs. This will protect the workers from exploitation and prevent future waves of illegal aliens from crossing the border looking for work. If they know that there is a close to zero chance of finding a job because no business will hire them, they will cease to look north as a viable option. Businesses will also benefit; businesses will be on an even playing field and competiveness will increase across many industries in the economy. Because all the new CERIC card holders will be legal, businesses can no longer undercut the competition by using illegal laborers. The net result will be a more reliable work force and safer working conditions for all workers. This will all happen in the marketplace, on its own. This can only be looked upon as a net positive.
In order to facilitate the verification of workers, an E-Verify type system would be set up with the information from the CERIC. Upon entry of the CERIC number the system would show the employer a photo of the owner of that number/card along with a physical description. The employer could then be assured that the individual was in fact legally eligible to work in the United States. And, absolve him of legal repercussions should fraud be subsequently discovered. This process must be simple and quick along with being inexpensive. There are no technological reasons this cannot be done. The only obstacles to establishing these policies for the employer are and will undoubtedly be political.
The underlying theme to SYSTEMATIC IMMIGRATION REFORM and the CERIC is that it is CONDITIONAL! The conditions are straightforward, fair and achievable. This is not and should not be misconstrued to be a “trap” to catch and deport anyone. It is merely a method by which illegal immigrants can prove what they never tire of telling people: “I am law-abiding and I just came here to work.” They must abide by the law, period. If they break the law, by committing a felony crime, commit a third misdemeanor crime, or a 2nd DUI, they will be processed for deportation. It is not unreasonable to ask that these immigrants follow our laws as a condition for legal status in the United States; and I believe many of them would be happy to accept these terms and end the constant anxiety of being caught and deported.
I believe that this country is the greatest nation ever devised and established by man. I wholeheartedly understand the manic rush of people to come to this great country. They are looking for, what we as Americans sometimes take for granted; the freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness. But, while I may empathize with their motivations, I cannot condone their lack of respect for the rule of law. I firmly believe that a great majority of Americans would be supportive of legislation that would adopt the concepts outlined in this series and would embrace a new wave of LEGAL immigrants, while at the same time forgive and give those who would necessarily be required to register themselves under this program an opportunity to prove that they are, in fact, law abiding and worthy of the chance to become US citizens. The People of the United States have always been and continue to be the most open, understanding, and charitable people in the world; they only ask that the laws, borders and sovereignty of the United States be respected.
This road map is not a complete solution; obviously, many details would have to be worked out. But if the general concepts were adopted and the conditions unambiguously established, it would make political, practical and common sense. Whatever its final version, the key to its success is simplicity; adding another 1000 pages of regulation and bureaucratic red tape to the already dizzyingly complicated immigration statutes would serve no purpose and would only exacerbate the problems we face today.
Finally, I must reiterate that the first and most critical step in this Systematic approach is to SECURE THE BORDER. Much like the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, you can send hundreds of skimmers and emplace hundreds of miles of barriers and booms and build all the sand levies you like, but at the end of the day they still had to stop the leak. Stopping the leak is just the first step. True recovery would have been impossible until the leak was stopped, and there is still a long recovery process forthcoming. In the same way, all the laws and regulations for both immigration and enforcement at all levels of government that are enacted won’t solve the problem if you are unwilling to stop the leak.
I challenge any and all politicians to use this roadmap of ideas as a true guide to once and for all solve the illegal immigration problem in the United States. But it will take intestinal fortitude and daring. Those that are weak of heart need not apply. The only way this problem is going to be solved it to tackle it directly and to ignore the petty political bickering and backbiting. This will take determination and a concerted effort, but it can be cone and it should be done; not only because it will solve or many of the issues associated with illegal immigration, but because it is the right thing to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment