The President's Immigration Plan - A Good Start

I just watched the webcast of President Bush's address on Immigration. My second thought (my first thought being posted here) was that it is at least start and maybe a good one at the, but it may not go far enough. I suppose though I do believe in the saying that actions speak louder than words. We have had the words and now I want to see how it is acted upon. That will take time. In the meantime let me give you my thoughts on the specific points of the President's address.

The first point was securing the border. Under this point the President said he plans to order 6,000 National Guard troops to the border. They're job will be to help with the monitoring the border and providing barriers to prevent people from entering where they should not. They are to eventually be replaced with additional Border Patrol agents and a hi-tech fence. Over all I think this is the most important part of the President's plan. I have long thought we should be using the National Guard to guard our nation's borders. If it was me though I would make its the National Guard's job to monitor all our borders. With todays technology there is no reason why we should not be able to know whenever someone approaches and attempts to cross our border. Futhermore we should be there to greet them, shake their hand, give them a cup of sugar and send them home. I would make the National Guard responsible for stopping people from actually crossing the border. Anybody caught crossing the border would be turned over to the Border Patrol who would process and deport them. I would put the Border Patrol in charge of tracking down those who manage to get past the Guard, not to mention catch those who are already here. By the way I wouldn't only do this to our southern border but also to our northern border.

The second point is to end catch and release. Good. It silly for us to be relesing the small percentage of those we capture on the idea that they will show up in court on an appointed date. Think about it. You just risked your life crossing the border. You have knowningly broken the laws of the countries whose border you just crossed. You've been caught. Instead of being put in a facility where you can be watched till your released, you are let go and told to show up next Tuesday so you can be sent back. Be honest - where are you going to be next Tuesday? I am glad to hear that the President plans to put an end to such a stupid policy. I know the policy is because of a lack of detention centers. I hope the President will consults with Sheriff Joe Arpaio (famed for using "tent cities" to house prisoners when his jails are full). Every person crossing the border illegally should be returned to their country as soon as possible. In the mean time we should provide the barest of necessities while they are waiting to be returned. There is on group of people who should not be returned though. That would be the mule runners. These are the people who are actually smuggling people across the border in a form of human trafficking. They are a disgusting form of human being that prey upon those seeking to cross much to their detriment and in some cases deaths. They should be prosecuted and thown into jail for long, long times. This would of course cut down on those willing to do it and reduce those who are coming across.

The third point is a Temporary Worker Program. There are a lot of people who simply want to come, get paid for a job, and go home. Futhermore there are employers who cannot fill the jobs they have because they cannot find people. This is why we need a guest worker program. This program should allow us to bring in people who want to work here and have a job to do so. It also allows us to check and track those people in order to make sure that they do not intend to harm us.

The fourth point is to improve employer varification methods. The President proposes that we should provide a card to foriegn workers that incorporates biometrics so that employers can varify somebody is legal to work here. He feels this is necessary because employers cannot filter out falsified documents. As far as that goes he is right. I feel for the employer who hires someone who is here illegally yet provided all the appropiate documentation. The thing is that a number of employers never even bother to check. Worse are employers who knowingly hire illegals. I do think we need to make a better, more reliable, system of varification. In the meantime though we need start making employers show that they at least did as much as they could to varify an employee. Any employer found not to have performed such varification or knowingly hiring illegals should be fined heavily.

Finally, the fifth point is probably the most contentious. Amnesty. The President of course insist that his proposals are not amnesty. Personally I don't care what he says - any idea that results in someone who came here illegally to stay is amnesty. At this point though there are a number of reasons that make rounding them up and sending them home impossible. President Bush believes illegal immigrants who want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law, pay their taxes, learn English, and work in a job for a number of years. The President believes there is a difference from an immigrant who has been here 20 years and a person who came across last week. Personally, I do not think so. Here is what I would do with all illegal immigrants. First they must voluntarily come forward. There would be a definite time period in which they would be able to. After that time period has eleasped anyone found here illegally would be sent back. Anyone who comes forth would become part the temporary worker program. I agree with the President about paying back taxes and learning English. Because I suspect that most illegal aliens are not financially well off (largely because of their illegal status) I would enact a financial penalty. I would require that they perform a significant number of community service hours. Presuming that they meet these requirements then they can get in line behind other seeking citizenship if they so desire.

Like I said I think the President's plan has some very good points and is a good start to immigration reform. I do not think it very comprehensive though as there are number of issues that it does not address. For instance it does not address towns that do not enforce current immigration law. It does not address illegal immigrants receiving goverment services. It does not address anchor babies. Still it is a start. Hopefully, we will start to see real reform and that this will not die in Congress.

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