“The “deport them all” position is probably politically untenable at this point, so that is where the negotiation must focus. I would support permanent residency status for these people, as long as they are law-abiding; but NO voting rights nor chance of citizenship.”
I think you’re coming closest to “where things are going to end up” regarding the “illegals question”. I’ve thought of the very same “solution” as you have.
The illegals — the vast majority of them — are NEVER going to be involuntarily deported. It doesn’t matter if we “cut off their benefits”. The reality is that, even without benefits, many if not most of them are light-years better off here than they would be back home (at least from _their_ viewpoint).
But even if they’re never going back, they should also NEVER be permitted to enjoy the full benefits of citizenship, because they chose to enter America illegally. And like you said above, NO voting rights, EVER. They should be tolerated, but never be given a direct voice (through the vote) in the future of the country.
What this really does is little more than “slow down” the browning of America.
The inescapable reality of the illegals is that it doesn’t matter if they are “legalized”, “amnestied”, or given citizenship. Because, within twenty years, many are going to “auto-legalize” THROUGH THEIR CHILDREN (shouting intentional). Every baby born to an illegal on U.S. soil is an automatic citizen, who will someday have the same “citizenship rights” as those children of native Americans. Where will we be then?
The only way to prevent this is to change the law of the land that bestows such citizenship, probably by a Constitutional Amendment that rewrites the earlier provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. And — same as with the “deport them all” argument — this isn’t going to happen, either.
Before I’m attacked for being pessimistic, I would wholeheartedly endorse deporting them all, and wholeheartedly endorse rewriting the Fourteenth.
But the essence of conservatism is a willingness to see things in the cold light of reality, and understand what can be changed, and what can’t. That’s what separates us from the liberal mindset.
And the reality is that once, earlier on, we might have properly dealt with the illegal problem — but lost the opportunity to do so by waiting, waiting, and waiting some more until their numbers had grown so large as to make such efforts politically (as well as logistically) impossible. It’s simply too late, at least for some areas of the country.
The solution? Wish I had one. Actually, I think it’s time for conservative Euro-Americans to start migrating to those states where they can rebuild their demographical majorities so as to be un-challengeable, at least within those state borders, and let the “multicultural states simply go their own way. We may even see a Soviet-style breakup in our future — a “Commonwealth of North American States”. It could happen peacefully, perhaps not. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Just sayin’...
I think we are of the same mind. Very thoughtful response.