Post by TRIPWIRE on Apr 2, 2006 20:45:29 GMT -5
April 2, 2006
Curtailing Illegal Immigration
Written by David M. Hickerson
Originally Posted at tripwire.hickersonfamily.net/2006_0402.html
I've been thinking about this for a while; have tried to look at it from the "other" side of the situation, but I'm at a serious loss when it comes to justifying illegal activities. I keep hearing people say that we're all immigrants, and I guess that's at least partly true, but you can't tell me that we're all "illegal" ones. Yeah, the original European immigrants did come over here and force their way through the land, but that isn't the same as illegal immigration. Believe me, if the Mexicans came over in force with guns and took over the continent, it wouldn't be called illegal immigration either.
So what should be done? I like all this talk about a "comprehensive" plan, especially since that particular buzzword means nothing without context. Of course I'm in favor of a comprehensive plan, but what the hell does that mean?
Here's my idea:
First, we need to enforce the laws that already exist. That means, if you don't belong here and we find you, you go to your country of origin. That doesn't mean we ought to go actively seeking out every single illegal individual, as that would be horribly costly and inefficient. What it does mean is we ought to network the computers of law enforcement so that an individual's legal status can be verified as easily as checking a person's driver's license or criminal background. If, for instance, a traffic cop has a car stopped with a driver that has a questionable legal status, that person's status should be cleared up before letting him or her continue. There should be no "catch and release," rubbish, a person that does not belong here should be detained and summarily deported. These people should have to go through the legal process just like any other law-abiding hopeful immigrant.
Second, we should work to prevent future illegals from simply walking across our borders. I'm in favor of building a wall across, at least portions of, the border between the United States and Mexico. This is one of the few high-cost government programs I'd be happy to see happen. If a wall were built across portions of the border closest to populated areas and the border patrol forces were increased to cover the areas not protected by the wall, I think we'd see a dramatic decrease in illegal penetration. I'd even go so far as to suggest the crazy idea of mounting weapons on the wall to blow away anything that crosses onto the U.S. side of the border. Seismic monitors could probably be used to detect attempts to create tunnels to cross underground. Essentially, the idea would be to create choke points where those attempting to cross at the "safest" points, the areas with no walls, no guns, and no seismic monitors, would be very likely to be caught. Additionally, these efforts would have a good chance of reducing drug smuggling and human trafficking for sex trade and other purposes.
I also believe that, as a portion of the wall-with-guns-and-border-patrol initiative, we should insist that the Mexican government allow our border patrol agents to cross the border in pursuit of any armed groups that attempt to enter the United States and are forced to turn away. I'll concede that this is unlikely to be permitted, but I feel it is reasonable to make the demand as a result of their lack of capacity or willingness to take charge of the smuggling rings functioning from within their country.
Next, many would argue that we need to provide more strict enforcement against employers of illegals. I really don't see a reasonable way to go about this because we can't send investigators to every single business to question everyone about their employment status--such a thing would be a horribly costly waste of taxpayer dollars, not to mention likely unconstitutional. It would be far more effective to provide a legal avenue to hire government-approved non-citizens than to try to bludgeon employers into hiring higher-paid American workers. Part of this could include changes to the laws to make non-citizens exempt from minimum wage (or create a lower minimum for them) as well as eliminate the employer-paid portion of the social security tax (not necessarily the employee's portion) on these individuals. Yeah, they'd still have to be documented, but being they aren't citizens there is no reason for them to receive the same benefits of citizenship that a proper citizen would. If employers weren't forced to pay minimum wage, social security, etc. for these non-citizen workers, maybe they'd be more inclined to hire people who are legal to be here.
Finally, let me state for the record that I'm not one of those crazy-folk that want to turn illegals away at emergency rooms or round them up like animals to be euthanized. I simply think that those people who choose to enter this country without proper documentation as required by our law should be returned to wherever they came from and be told to make a legal attempt or don't bother. I don't want to fine them massive amounts of money, as I figure they're both poor and likely in financial servitude by those who brought them here in the first place, nor do I want to put them all in prison or execute them. There is a process, and it isn't unreasonable to expect people to follow it.
References:
no reference material was used.
Curtailing Illegal Immigration
Written by David M. Hickerson
Originally Posted at tripwire.hickersonfamily.net/2006_0402.html
I've been thinking about this for a while; have tried to look at it from the "other" side of the situation, but I'm at a serious loss when it comes to justifying illegal activities. I keep hearing people say that we're all immigrants, and I guess that's at least partly true, but you can't tell me that we're all "illegal" ones. Yeah, the original European immigrants did come over here and force their way through the land, but that isn't the same as illegal immigration. Believe me, if the Mexicans came over in force with guns and took over the continent, it wouldn't be called illegal immigration either.
So what should be done? I like all this talk about a "comprehensive" plan, especially since that particular buzzword means nothing without context. Of course I'm in favor of a comprehensive plan, but what the hell does that mean?
Here's my idea:
First, we need to enforce the laws that already exist. That means, if you don't belong here and we find you, you go to your country of origin. That doesn't mean we ought to go actively seeking out every single illegal individual, as that would be horribly costly and inefficient. What it does mean is we ought to network the computers of law enforcement so that an individual's legal status can be verified as easily as checking a person's driver's license or criminal background. If, for instance, a traffic cop has a car stopped with a driver that has a questionable legal status, that person's status should be cleared up before letting him or her continue. There should be no "catch and release," rubbish, a person that does not belong here should be detained and summarily deported. These people should have to go through the legal process just like any other law-abiding hopeful immigrant.
Second, we should work to prevent future illegals from simply walking across our borders. I'm in favor of building a wall across, at least portions of, the border between the United States and Mexico. This is one of the few high-cost government programs I'd be happy to see happen. If a wall were built across portions of the border closest to populated areas and the border patrol forces were increased to cover the areas not protected by the wall, I think we'd see a dramatic decrease in illegal penetration. I'd even go so far as to suggest the crazy idea of mounting weapons on the wall to blow away anything that crosses onto the U.S. side of the border. Seismic monitors could probably be used to detect attempts to create tunnels to cross underground. Essentially, the idea would be to create choke points where those attempting to cross at the "safest" points, the areas with no walls, no guns, and no seismic monitors, would be very likely to be caught. Additionally, these efforts would have a good chance of reducing drug smuggling and human trafficking for sex trade and other purposes.
I also believe that, as a portion of the wall-with-guns-and-border-patrol initiative, we should insist that the Mexican government allow our border patrol agents to cross the border in pursuit of any armed groups that attempt to enter the United States and are forced to turn away. I'll concede that this is unlikely to be permitted, but I feel it is reasonable to make the demand as a result of their lack of capacity or willingness to take charge of the smuggling rings functioning from within their country.
Next, many would argue that we need to provide more strict enforcement against employers of illegals. I really don't see a reasonable way to go about this because we can't send investigators to every single business to question everyone about their employment status--such a thing would be a horribly costly waste of taxpayer dollars, not to mention likely unconstitutional. It would be far more effective to provide a legal avenue to hire government-approved non-citizens than to try to bludgeon employers into hiring higher-paid American workers. Part of this could include changes to the laws to make non-citizens exempt from minimum wage (or create a lower minimum for them) as well as eliminate the employer-paid portion of the social security tax (not necessarily the employee's portion) on these individuals. Yeah, they'd still have to be documented, but being they aren't citizens there is no reason for them to receive the same benefits of citizenship that a proper citizen would. If employers weren't forced to pay minimum wage, social security, etc. for these non-citizen workers, maybe they'd be more inclined to hire people who are legal to be here.
Finally, let me state for the record that I'm not one of those crazy-folk that want to turn illegals away at emergency rooms or round them up like animals to be euthanized. I simply think that those people who choose to enter this country without proper documentation as required by our law should be returned to wherever they came from and be told to make a legal attempt or don't bother. I don't want to fine them massive amounts of money, as I figure they're both poor and likely in financial servitude by those who brought them here in the first place, nor do I want to put them all in prison or execute them. There is a process, and it isn't unreasonable to expect people to follow it.
References:
no reference material was used.