Immigration
By Letters To The Editor Chuck Busch (03/20/06)
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist needs to be commended on his leadership on border security. Bypassing the impasse on whether to grant “guest worker” permits which will extend amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, Senator Frist is pressing ahead to make sure at least our borders will be strengthened under his own bill S. 2454 (Securing America’s Borders Act). The issues of immigration reform and border security, though interrelated, need to be handled separately to address short-term and long-term solutions to the present national immigration catastrophe. Immigration reform is useless, unless there is control at the border.
The debate over immigration is an extremely complex issue with profound ramifications for the future of our culture, but in simple terms if we don’t reverse the flood of immigrants and who knows what else into this country, our 12 million illegal alien problem will become a 20 M or 30 M problem within just a few years. Increasing the number of Border Guards and erecting sections of fence in high traffic areas as recommended in Senator Frist’s proposal will definitely help to stem the flow of people trying to sneak into this country. However, even these measures are not completely satisfactory because they will take time to implement and may not be fully adequate.
Militarize the Border Now
The situation demands a more expedient solution. Given the rampant defiance and violence against our Border Agents everyday, deploying the National Guard to the border just as they were sent to New Orleans, would seem to be the only obvious immediate remedy for this severe crisis.
Comparisons to the hurricane floods that inundated the Gulf region are not far fetched. This huge tidal wave of humanity streaming into the southwestern US and beyond has overwhelmed the local community’s resources for hospitalization, welfare, education, employment, housing and law enforcement. Before we can effectively resolve the illegal alien dilemma, we must address the central weakness of the immigration system, which is our open borders.
If the country is truly at war with a transnational terrorist enemy, then border security should be a priority for defense of the first order. A military presence at our borders could bring almost an immediate halt to the illegal crossing of our borders as has been demonstrated already by the mere surveillance of the Minuteman civilian group.
Internal Immigration Reform
As far as what to do with those undocumented individuals already residing in the United States, there are practical measures that can be imposed that will result in the least disruption of lives and businesses and still preserve our immigration laws.
There has been a lot of discussion about drivers’ license ID's, green cards, visas, a matricula consular or Mexican ID card and even a national ID card required for law-abiding US citizens as an attempt to give unauthorized persons some legal status in this country and distinguish them from the native population. Any plan of this nature, just as with most immigration reform schemes, depends entirely on cooperation by the illegal immigrant, which for obvious reasons is not likely to happen.
In the interest of national security and for the sake of the integrity of our legal system we have to know who is in our country. It must be understood and accepted by all, that those individuals who have stolen across the borders do not have the “right to remain” and have forfeited their opportunity and that of any offspring for permanent residency or eventual citizenship. The Kennedy/McCain bill not only permits illegals to remain but also promises permanent residency and should be rejected out of hand.
The expulsion of every illegal immigrant immediately and en masse similar to what was implemented under the Eisenhower administration would not be “practical” as Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said. Drastic actions such as that could disrupt both the US and the Mexican economies and the costs would be prohibitive. However, it is imperative that both countries abandon this unofficial illegitimate subversive policy of open borders, wean themselves off of dependency on the exploitative abuse of human beings and restore the lawfully controlled management of immigrant resources.
Mass Registry of Unauthorized Persons
A more direct and sensible first step toward resolving the status issue is to make illegal entry into this country a felony, an obvious overdue proposal suggested by Senator Arlan Spector, and then demand that all persons residing illegally in this country register their identity with a local or federal authority within a two-month period. Those who do not comply in the allotted time are to be deported immediately without appeal.
Those who do comply will be allowed to remain temporarily under probationary status until their individual case is reviewed and a determination is made based on immigration entry standards and national unemployment levels. Those who are considered to be acceptable candidates for legal immigration will have five years to make arrangements to return to Mexico and reapply for a worker’s permit or permanent residency. Except for the mass registry aspect, this plan is similar to the one proposed by Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
This comprehensive program, if strictly enforced, will impose some legal constraint on the present day alien anarchy, not reward illegals by putting them ahead in the immigration line and will discourage others from trying to take the illegal route. Only by immediately sealing the borders, identifying who’s who in the country and cherishing the status of citizenship, will the US government convince the American people again that it is sincere about fulfilling its number one responsibility, which is to protect the country from invasion.
Chuck Busch
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