Okay, after weeks of avoiding the issue, I'm finally going to talk about illegal immigration. I want to start, though, by asking everyone to face the facts. First, this nation is not going to round up twelve million illegals, put them on buses and dump them on the south banks of the Rio Grande. It ain't gonna happen. So quit thinking about it.
There is no political will in the government to do it. The cost would make the cost of the Iraq war look like the cost of the smallest statue of Bobby Byrd in West Virginia, and the legal challenges would tie up the Federal courts for the next decade.
Additionally, even if the government got past all those hurdles, do you really think that Vicente Fox is going to allow those buses to cross the border into Mexico? Heavily armed Federales would be standing there blocking any such attempt.
Am I suggesting that we give up and open our borders? No, of course not. I'm merely asking that we put aside the emotion and think about this issue rationally.
Why do Mexican peasants climb fences and pack themselves into unventilated tractor trailers to get here? It's simple economics. The United States offers much higher wages and a social safety net that makes the risk worth the rewards. Of course, my feelings about the social safety net are no secret. I don't believe that the Federal government should be in the insurance business, the charity business or the hospital business. It is, however, and all my griping isn't going to change that. The illegals get the benefit of those social services.
Other than gasoline taxes and cigarette taxes, most illegals don't pay any Federal taxes. They are paid in cash and their employers don't take out taxes. As a result, when an undocumented worker takes advantage of the free stuff the government offers, he or she hasn't even put anything into the collective kitty.
What is the solution? Proof of identification and status. The Federal government is going to provide social services (damn it!), but they should only be for citizens. If a person goes to the local government funded charity hospital, they should be required to prove that they belong here.
But Steve, wouldn't that involve profiling? So the hell what? Profiling has gotten a bad rap in this politically correct culture in which we live. Young Middle Eastern men are more likely to blow up planes than 70 year old WASP grandmothers. That isn't a racist or bigoted statement, that's merely a fact. Hispanics who have difficulty speaking English are more likely to be illegal immigrants than the redneck with the Confederate flag on his truck. Eliminate the services that illegals can obtain, and crossing the border unlawfully becomes less attractive.
Now let's talk about the jobs issue. I am here to say that there are some jobs that Americans, as a whole, won't do. We have become too pampered, too lazy and too demanding as a society to do unskilled, hot sweaty low paying work. Further, if I'm a farmer, I shouldn't have to pay you $20 an hour, provide insurance and a pension to get you to work in my watermelon patch or orange grove.
We need low skilled and unskilled laborers who aren't afraid of grunge work. That doesn't justify turning a blind eye to illegal immigration, though. It would be a simple matter to increase the legal immigration quota from the Latin American countries that invariably provide these workers. The labor unions wouldn't like it, but screw em. They are part of the problem anyway. While they may have been important to eliminate sweatshop conditions one hundred years ago, labor unions now would try to make us into France where employees whine if they have to work over 30 hours a week.
As a large part of my law practice, I represent Mexican nationals residing and working in the United States. I've even represented some of them on issues with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). I find most of them to be hard workers, wanting the best for their families and appreciative of what this country offers. Additionally, unlike a lot of Americans, these people pay their bills. None of that, though, changes the fact that illegal aliens are illegal.
We claim that we are a nation of laws. If that is so, then the rule of law must prevail. We cannot ignore the fact that these people broke the law to come here. We cannot grant amnesty because that rewards lawbreaking while punishing those who follow the rules. With all due respect to President Bush, his guest worker proposal is amnesty.
The only solution that I see is to make this country less attractive by restricting access to social services and seriously guarding the borders to prevent new illegals from entering. After getting those two things done, and we can prove that we have a handle on the situation, THEN we should probably increase the number of legal immigrants permitted from Mexico and Latin America.
I realize that my opinions and suggestions on this issue will satisfy few. I'm sorry, there is no way to make most of you happy on this issue. It's an emotional issue, and on emotional issues practicality takes a back seat. I merely ask you to consider what I'm saying.
3 comments:
Actually, you've done a very good job at looking at the issue fairly, and proposing a very reasonable solution. While I still believe that the guest worker program is probably the most pragmatic way to handle the illegal immigration situation, I agree that making this country less enticing is also an important key to reducing the numbers.
Still, many believe the risks are worth it--and when you have some Chinese actually paying $20,000 to a smuggler to get to our shores, the enticement must be very strong. It will be a struggle, all the way around.
I agree with you. I wrote to the politicians who are supposed to be representing me and told them to place the illegal immigrant and amnesty issues on the back border and to do something about our securing our borders.
I think cutting back on the social programs available to them, which you pointed out, is a good positive thing; but also, there should be some other things that are taken into account..i.e., illegal drivers licenses, their voting when they aren't even citizens, and the fact that they should be checked for diseases like TB and innoculated against other things like mumps, measles, etc. The Center for Disease Control had better be following the rise of certain diseases long gone from our society like Scarlet and Rheumatic Fevers, TB, small pox, mumps, etc.
Bonnie
Pittsburgh
Thanks for a practical look at illegal immigration, Steve. What do you think of heavy fines for employers who hire illegal workers? Perhaps the monies could be put in a barrel as the sole source of funding Congessional 'earmarks'. OINK!
Cuffie
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