Immigration

With all of today’s headlines about immigration I wanted to weigh in with a few thoughts. I suppose that what I am going to outline is not terribly new but it does take issue with both sides as they try to position themselves for their core constituents.

First, it sounds obvious, but we have to admit there is a problem. There are many who do not feel that there is. A country’s border is sacred to its citizenry for it separates one country from another in social, economic, security and political ways. The United States is the destination for people all over the world because we are a beacon of social, economic and political freedom rarely found in other countries.

To maintain many of these freedoms we must have control of who enters our country in number and identity. The latter, even more so in today’s world of terrorist plots and threats. Those who believe that our border is secure need only see the unaccompanied twelve years olds walking or swimming across the border to realize the borders are not secure. This leaves the door open for all forms of immigration abuse. Most every country in the world controls, in some form, its own border or its own economic interests by visa or other controlling factor. Why should we do anything different?

On the other hand, those that believe the eleven or twelve million undocumented individuals in this country should be deported are not being realistic. It will simply never happen. Yes, they entered illegally or entered legally and overstayed their visa and they will need to pay a price for not following the laws of our country. What that price is can and should be debated. What plan comes from this is not amnesty. Amnesty would be to ignore the illegal act and give everyone citizenship without a paying price.

So just what is the answer to our immigration problem? Here is my solution. You may have your own and that creates a healthy debate that we need to have in this country. Not by the headline grabbing talking heads but by those actually responsible for enacting our laws and enforcing them.

The first thing is to actually secure the border, not just temporarily but permanently. The next step is to increase the number of legal visas and work permits substantially. This will allow for a legal work force to follow many of the agriculture related jobs that flow across the border. Additionally, we need to substantially increase both work visas and citizenship for higher educated individuals. Finally, we will need to finalize a path to citizenship for the millions of illegal individuals already here.

Of course, none of this can happen without strict enforcement of the laws we already have in place. That may well mean that those with criminal records are deported immediately but others will no longer be looking over their shoulder and afraid of deportation if they follow the new laws. Yes, there will some gray areas and those can and will be worked through over time.

It is time that we stop ignoring our immigration issues and stop the rhetoric (from both sides). It’s time to do the humane thing, and that is to find a solution now. All in the name of freedom, health, safety, and the economic benefit of our Nation.

More later…