I Would Cross The Border Too

Nothing is ever going to be done on the issue of illegal immigration, unless the underlying issues are addressed. Advocates of stronger enforcement are dismissed as being racist. And there are those who are motivated by racism. That must be acknowledged, and the arguments in favor of stronger enforcement must include a method which compensates for the inherent racism in some of their number.
Advocates of amnesty, driver's licenses for undocumented workers, and guest worker programs are dismissed as being for open borders, opening America to terrorists. They maintain that the vast majority of immigrants, legal and illegal, simply want to feed and provide for their families. And that is true. Hwoever, they must acknowledge that a certain percentage of those who cross the border illegally are coming to this country to commit crime in a "target-rich" environment, with a built-in escape hatch - the border. A certain percentage of those who cross the border illegally are those who are on Federal Watch lists, because they have been associated with groups that want to bring harm, as much harm as possible, to this country.
Let us ALL agree that in re-designing a border-control program which must serve all of America, that ALL of the border control will be directed at the very small percentage of those who would bring harm to America, whether that harm is terrorist, criminal, or economic overwhelmment (is that a word?).
No one can be satisfied, much less happy, that there are dozens of hospitals which have been forced out of providing any service at all; and most of them have been located in the very heart of the communities that need them most.
No one can be satisfied, much less happy, that the schools in California, especially in densely populated areas, suffer immense rates of drop-outs, gang violence, drug use, and academic failure.
No one can be satisfied, much less happy, that the law-enforcement officers, paramedics, and 911 dispatchers spend great swaths of time dealing with non-emergency issues, partly because of mis-use of a system by those who do not comprehend it.
No one can be happy that the roads are as congested as they are, that the cars most likely to contribute most heavily to pollution are driven by those who cannot afford repairs, that accidents involving those who cannot purchase insurance drive up costs for everyone, that those who do not take tests to show they understand our rules are much more likely to cause accidents.
I am not trying to argue that illegal immigration is the cause of all of these tragic circumstances. However, there is not a doubt in my mind that it is a factor in all of them.
Hearing that admission from the advocates of guest worker programs, and a willingness to include in their program something that would address each of these on some level, would go a long way toward breaking down the resistance of those on the side of greater enforcement.
Hearing an admission from the advocates of greater enforcement that there is and will remain in this country a need for continued immigration, that if the shoe were on the other foot, if they were caught in a rigid, corrupt system like those prevalent in Mexico and many of the other countries from which those immigrants come, that they might consider breaking the border to achieve for their families the tremendous wealth, freedom, and opportunity that are available in this country.
If both sides would acknowledge an ability of this country to provide through invention and technology, through hard work and organization, through the competition inherent in our economy, not only enough for our citizens, but also enough to help boost the economies of the rest of the world, we might actually be able to create a solution which would be a win-win instead of a compromise.

Illegal Immigrants Will Deport Themselves

The joy of truly moderate politics is being able to freely take the best parts of plans offered by those of the unreasonable left, and those on the unreasonable right, and weave them into a truly workable plan.
The first necessary step for a rational national debate, as opposed to the emotional shouting and fear and name-calling to which we are currently being subjected, is to remove the rhetoric that those who call for enforcement of the borders are doing so out of racist tendencies. Many are racist. That is an unfortunate truth. Many who involve themselves in this issue are doing so out of a racist tendency, or an isolationist tendency, which they will not admit to.
Those of us who are not motivated by racism or isolationism must insist that the FIRST step taken (yes, even before we all agree to actually enforce our borders) is to proclaim that our unified will is to create a program which will have as its desired result, an ENORMOUS increase in LEGAL immigration.
Just think what that would do to those who argue that anyone arguing for enforcement of the borders is anti-immigrant. It takes away their cheif argument, their most emotion-provoking argument, in the same way that, running for president in 1980, Ronald Reagan eviscerated Mondale's attacks on his age, by proclaiming that he would not hold Mondale's youth and inexperience against him.
These emotional issues must be removed before true development of an honestly workable program are possible. We are NEVER going to create enough bureaucracy to test whether people have been here five years, or two years, what they owe in back taxes, whether they have been good citizens all that time, etc. We are NEVER going to develop the political will, though I disagree with those who maintain it is physically and financially impossible, to deport the millions who have crossed (and are currently crossing in record numbers) our borders, bypassing the legal process.
I sincerely hope we NEVER agree to create a new slave class, those who are doomed to clean our toilets, make our beds, and pick our fruit in perpetuity, because we "need" them. Whatever we come up with must allow (demand) that the full freedom of the American Dream is available to all!
However, we can also NEVER surrender our right and responsibility to our citizens, to maintain security at our borders. We can NEVER afford to reward those who flout the process, and jump to the head of the line, and retain any ability to maintain control over legal immigration.
Therefore, they must deport themselves.
We must dangle a big enough carrot in front of them (American Citizenship) to make it worth their while to voluntarily pull up stakes, and return to their countries of origin. We must give them time to prepare to be out of the country for at least 6 months.
We must make it simple enough for them to register for a program which would have three tiers. Those who apply for a Guest Worker program, from outside the United States, may enter a track which will eventuate in American Citizenship. Those who have violated our borders, who apply for Guest Worker status may in fact gain such status, may even stay here (for 3 years, 5 years, whatever is agreed to); but they can NEVER become American Citizens. Either of these tracks would include an agreement to learn basic English skills, to understand the workings of basic American Government and Civics, to be finger-printed, to show that they have a marketable skill, or are willing to work in unskilled-labor, and whatever other restrictions and responsibilities are deemed to be reasonable.
There are MANY things we can do to ease this transition.
The third track is deportation. If (after a reasonable time to put together your affairs) you fail to register for either track, and you are found to be in this country, or if you have committed any felony in this country, or a certain number of misdemeanors, then you will be deported back to your country, and you can NEVER become an American citizen, and you can NEVER enter the Guest Worker Program.
This program is simple. It must remain so. You cannot publish a program which is 200 pages long and expect anyone to be able to adequately explain the requirements of it to an immigrant who has only a basic knowledge of our country.

Back In Business

Of course the trouble with blogging is that if you don't keep it up, you disappear off the face of the ether. Today I am re-enthused by finding numerous other sites authored by passionate moderates, while trying to re-locate my way into this one.
The impetus for my return is my infuriation regarding the mixing of the terms illegal immigration and immigration, in a debate which is likely to result in hugely increasing the bureaucracy of our government, while making it much less able to deal with any aspect of illegal immigration.
Can someone explain to me how you are going to determine how long someone has been in the country, when there are no records of their entry, when there are no records of their employ, when they clearly have every motive to lie and maintain that they have been here 5 years (if that becomes the gold standard)? Are we now supposed to take the INS, the Border Patrol, which is already stretched so thin that it is essentially nothing, so that 10,000 "migrants," knowing that amnesty is in the offing, are crossing the border every day, and have them conduct interviews with the illegal aliens, the ones they cannot even find to stop them from crossing the border?
The same overworked INS agents are supposed to sit down and chat with the undocumented workers whom we supposedly cannot find, and have been told by both incumbent parties that there is no possible way to get them to leave the country, to find out if they have been here between 2 and 5 years, so that all those who have been here less than 5 will somehow be forced to return to their country of origin (which is really unfair if you are from China, or Nigeria, or Chile, or any country other than Mexico or Canada).
And somehow we are going to gather the fortitude to confront all those who have been here less than 2 years, and get them to leave for good - even though that number is considerably over a million, and we've already been told that it is impossible to even consider shipping out 10 million - so how, after the winnowing, are we going to carry that out ?
Until that explanation is forthcoming, there is absolutely no purpose in my consideration of any of the other terms of the bill under consideration in the Senate, and the horrifying sight of Senators I have previously admired (Barack Obama for one) and detested (Ted Kennedy) standing up and proclaiming that this bill, even were it to pass exactly as it is, without any further honing, would be a great thing, is a sight that will haunt me for years.