“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
With these words, Lady Liberty welcomed millions of our desperate and frightened grandparents to the shores of Ellis Island.
The disclaimer, “Unless you’re a Mexican laborer”, was apparently a recent addendum.
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Rare in politics is there an overwhelming national problem for which there is actually a simple, practical and highly effective solution. Illegal immigration is this rare beast.
In fact, the solution here is so darn practical, it’s really difficult to argue against it (and nearly impossible to offer a better alternative).
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The Facts:
• 11 million illegal immigrants live in the United States. Contrary to political ads, these are not 11 million men. This number includes millions of mothers, children and grandmothers — many of whom have been living here for more than a generation. Many young adults, brought here as children, don’t even speak their parents’ native tongue. For these young adults, America is the only home they have ever known.
• Although immigrants significantly contribute to our national economy (spending billions of dollars as consumers), they are also a significant economic burden on public services (e.g. schools, hospitals).
• Nearly all illegal immigrants have been enticed to immigrate here by Americans wanting cheap labor. With a wink and a nod, we have let them know that immigration and employment laws will not be enforced. By offering them work — usually doing jobs we would not do ourselves, and at wages far below poverty standards — we have long extended an invitation to immigrate, work and live here.
• Illegal immigrants live their lives in the shadows of our society, always in mortal fear of deportation — a fear especially profound and damaging for the children of these immigrants.
• The lack of a comprehensive federal immigration policy has left many states overburdened and unable to manage this problem at the state and local levels.
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The Philosophy:
It is unimaginable, immoral and logistically impossible to think that we are going to identify, arrest and deport 11 million people. Only the most callous and, frankly, un-American of us can imagine rounding up a family of five — a family who may have been living, working and attending school here for ten years— driving them to the Mexican border and simply pushing them off the bus. These are people that fled their country in order to survive. There are no homes waiting for them back in their native countries.
It is equally immoral for us to entice families to immigrate here and then make them live in the shadows as sub-humans. It is not who we are as Americans. We are a country of immigrants.
At the same time, it is equally clear that we must protect our nation both fiscally and socially — which requires very real restrictions on immigration and responsible regulation of immigrants.
Therefore, we need a solution that affords limited protection for these immigrants (allowing them to live productive lives and contribute to our society), while at the same time permiting our country to legally regulate and monitor this group.
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The Solution:
1. All illegal immigrants must register with the government by a fixed date (at post offices, DMV…). This is a one-time deal. If you do not register, you are not protected. No exceptions.
2. Applicants will be given “Temporary Protective Status” and issued a national ID card (with fingerprint and holographic security features).
3. Federal TPS Database is then established — with names, photographs, fingerprints, criminal backgrounds and security data on each immigrant.
4. Applicant will be excluded (and deported) if any significant criminal offense.
5. Within 12 months, ALL employers (from corporations to household maids) must check all employees with this new database. If any employer is found with a non-registered illegal immigrant, a severe fine will be assessed. Employers will be routinely inspected and the law will be aggressively enforced. The immediate effect will be to completely STOP all illegal employment.
6. Since 95+ % of illegal immigration consists of the poor seeking work, the inflow of illegal immigrants will virtually vanish — without the need of costly fences or security checkpoints. If there is simply no chance for illegal work (or free public education for their children), the overwhelming majority will just not come. We can then focus our limited resources on the real dangers associated with border control: terrorism & drug trafficking.
7. An individual’s status will be checked only when seeking work, public education or if arrested (no raids on public busses…). Registered immigrants are not required to carry their TPS cards.
8. To maintain TPS, must re-register every 3 years and maintain non-criminal status.
9. TPS does not give full protections of regular citizens (no minimum wage, no worker’s compensation or unemployment benefits…).
10. If we want to provide a possible path to citizenship (and we do not have to), very rigorous requirements can be established (e.g. 10 years of residency, non-criminal status, 5 years of tax returns, civics and English classes, military service, etc…).
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So that’s it — a real solution to a real problem. Humane, just, practical and effective.
Your grandparents would be very proud.
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the politically challenged 