Immigration Law:
I listened to Tony Snow from the White House on the Rush Limbaugh show. I've heard discussions on the Melenie Morgan show. I listen to the topic on the remaining shreds of Air America, Ed Shultz, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Riely, et all. I’m surprised how both political polar starting points get this carrot in their lips but never in their teeth.
There are several bills and compromise bills floating around. In my opinion there is a much better starting point. Let’s see if you agree.
There are several components that all sides, including we the unwashed public, agree on:
Something needs to be done.
There are between 12 - 17 million people involved.
We can’t logistically deport that many people all at once.
Unions and political parties want 12 million “fresh meat” voters.
Illegal immigrants come here for the jobs.
American business needs the workers.
Amnesty for “Illegals” is off the table for the public .
The better starting point is:
- Offer amnesty to the American Business.
- Don’t even attempt to do a mass deportation.
- Fix the legal immigration system.
- Revamp the US Justice Dept. system for reimbursement for local law enforcement as regards Illegals.
- Establish a separate identification system for non-citizens.
Amnesty for Business:
Business has one year to register their illegal and suspected illegal workers. During this period the workers can continue working with the employer paying a per pay-period fee. This fee is calculated to even out the pay rate with immigrants and US citizens. Half of the aggregate fee will be returned to the employer if the immigrant eventually becomes legalized. The natural chain of events here is that each business will realistically asses which worker is worth the investment. Those not deemed to be worthy will be cut loose and go into the wind. It is important to recognize that these “in the wind” people will not worsen the existing problem. It will leave them in the existing problem but less of them, thus the first cut has been made. A portion of these wind people may settle into another business’s acceptable group. The rest will either “self-deport” which might include going further north to another country or they will become obvious to the ICE system. The immigrants who stay with the employer will for the first time be fully identified. This is a major accomplishment. The fees paid by the employer will be directed to partially fund the other elements of the plan.
Mass Deportation:
As I said, don’t even try it. Once the number has been reduced in step one, deportation has to be Criminals First. A One Strike, zero tolerance for crimes big or small. The question becomes to where do we deport them. If their home nations want to continue to receive foreign aid and or trade benefits, they will have to pay to come get them. In contrast to the previous step, this is not a case by case proposition. If a particular nation will not agree to come and get their citizens its time to finally make use of the UN for the type of mission they are good at. Remember, the accepted catalyst in the first place was jobs. The UN can arrange for jobs in other countries who also need workers. The illegal can accept the offer or voluntarily self-deport to their home port. As a last choice, jail. This will likely be out-sourced and cause a whole new dust up. But that can be worked out in a separate essay. However, by this point the numbers have been reduced to a manageable size, Another major accomplishment.
Fix the Legal Immigration Policy:
I won’t spend a lot of words here except to say that the main problems have grown over time, much like feature creep in computer software, with all the exceptions that have become policy. It needs to be rolled back to the original standards. Most importantly, we must remove the technicality known as the “Anchor Baby”. As it stands now if, let’s say, a couple from Denmark is on a cruise ship inside US territorial waters and have a baby - that baby is a US citizen. The current immigration policy extends extra rights to the parents. Its just plain wrong.
Revamp Justice Dept. Reimbursement:
Currently, even in the so-called Sanctuary Cities and Counties, the US Dept. of Justice pays the local costs of police and courts for jailing repeat felony illegal immigrants. The key word is repeat. This has become a planned revenue source for these entities who see it as good business to keep unused jail cells filled and overtime pay flowing in a sick catch and release dance. You can find the exact figures for all jurisdictions on the Justice Dept. web site. You have to drill down a bit but you will be shocked at the millions of dollars sent to even small communities. Look at
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/05SCAAP.html and click - “ Go to the FY 2005 SCAAP Payment List... “ Shocking.
Separate identification system for non-citizens:
None of us (US Citizens) wants a National ID card. The need for this is muted by establishing a separate ID system for non-nationals. Throw all of the technology we have at it. Naturally, it should be compatible with the Interpol system.
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So there you have it. Obviously, this is a brief overview of the strategy and anyone who is predisposed to do so can chip away at the details. The objective, as it is with all the posts here, is to plant a seed and let others expand, nurture, perfect and claim these ideas as their own.
