Posted on 04/05/2006 9:44:00 AM PDT by Reagan Man
As the Senate continues to grapple with immigration reform, it's time to clear the air of some broad misconceptions in the current debate. Since writing about this topic over the last few weeks, my inbox has been flooded with e-mails raising questions.
Some critics seem especially rankled by my arguments that many illegal aliens are "otherwise law-abiding" members of their communities. Most detractors point out that illegal aliens can't pay taxes since they aren't entitled to work. But that's only half right. Confusion and ignorance on the immigration issue abound, so, here are a few facts worth considering.
First, illegal aliens are not currently criminals. They have committed a misdemeanor civil offense under current law by entering or remaining in the United States once their visas expire, but the House-passed immigration bill would automatically make these offenses criminal felonies.
Second, illegal aliens, by definition, broke the law to enter the country, but the way they got here doesn't differ all that much from the way most immigrants came in previous eras. Until the success of the immigration restriction movement in the 1920s, people who wanted to immigrate simply showed up at U.S. ports, or in the case of Mexicans and Canadians, just walked across the border.
There were laws in place governing naturalization, which varied over time from requiring that an immigrant live here as little as two years to as long as 14 years before being eligible for citizenship. Indeed, laws requiring registration of immigrants were set up to ensure that immigrants met the naturalization residency requirements.
Unless they were from Asia (Chinese and, later, other Asian immigrants were barred or severely limited from immigrating between 1862 and 1952), immigrants had merely to show themselves to be free of "loathsome or contagious diseases"; demonstrate that they were not likely to become dependent on public assistance (still required to gain admission today); attest that they were not polygamists, convicts or prostitutes; and, later, pay a small fee. These requirements were met after the immigrants were already on U.S. soil -- in fact, the huge numbers of people immigrating in the early 20th century led to the creation of Ellis Island off Manhattan to process the entrants.
Today's legal immigrants face a lengthy, sometimes decades-long, process, must have close relatives already living in the U.S. to stand any realistic chance of being admitted, or must possess unusual skills much in demand and have an employer ready to hire them.
Third, the overwhelming majority of illegal aliens pay taxes, including Social Security, Medicare and property taxes, not to mention sales taxes. The chief actuary of the Social Security Administration estimates that three-fourths of all illegal aliens have Social Security (and Medicare) taxes deducted from their wages. How? It's simple.
Since it is illegal to hire someone who does not present a Social Security number (and show other documentation of legal residence), many illegal aliens use phony numbers or cards to get jobs. In 2002 alone, the Social Security Administration reported it had collected $7 billion in payroll taxes and $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes from workers who could not be matched with valid Social Security numbers.
In addition, illegal aliens pay property taxes just like everyone else, either directly, if they own homes (and surprising numbers of illegal aliens do), or indirectly through their landlords' property taxes in the form of rent. Most illegal aliens pay income taxes -- since these, too, are automatically deducted -- but they fail to claim any refunds since they are fearful of drawing attention to their illegal status.
Do these facts mean we ought to ignore the problem of 12 million illegal aliens living in the United States? Of course not. It's bad for all of us when laws are so wantonly flouted. Those who have entered the country should pay some price for having violated the law -- a heavy fine, for example, which is the usual penalty for misdemeanor offenses.
The more difficult question is how to stop more people from coming here illegally -- and the best way to do that is to increase border security and change our current, inflexible laws to make it possible for more people to come here legally.
Finally a fair and balanced and educational article. Thanks for posting.
They had visas? Who knew.... susie
;^)
Just this week, I fully grasped the reason that many of the media elites and political elites are so soft on immigtation. If the illegals are gone, they lose their domestic help. I caught just a tiny snippet of an interview Bill Bennett was conducting with some woman. I don't know who she was, but he addressed her as "Catherine" and she said that she speaks Spanish. She said that she lives in a small town in (I think) South Carolina. She told him that, aside from among the illegal aliens, you can't find a housekeeper.
Well, guess what, Catherine. I live in a small town, also, and I had now trouble finding a housekeeper, i.e., myself. I also have a lawn boy. He's also my mechanic, my carpenter, my electrician, and my husband.
Maybe if these elites came out into the real world they could actually be on the side of properly defending our borders and protecting our country.
Good point. Thanks.
"The men who do not become Americans and nothing else are hyphenated Americans; and there ought to be no room for them in this country. The man who calls himself an American citizen and who yet shows by his actions that he is primarily the citizen of a foreign land, plays a thoroughly mischievous part in the life of our body politic. He has no place here; and the sooner he returns to the land to which he feels his real heart-allegiance, the better it will be for every good American. There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else...." - Theodore Roosevelt
"Second, illegal aliens, by definition, broke the law to enter the country, but the way they got here doesn't differ all that much from the way most immigrants came in previous eras."..
With all due respect and not to be offensive to everyone here, this above quote is total and absolute bulls h i t.
I cannot even believe a thing like that would be printed.
immigtation = immigration
...this above quote is total and absolute bull...
&&
Agreed! Most our our forefathers came here and stood in line, waited to be checked for contagious diseases, and swore allegiance to America.
misdemeanor's aren't crimes?
Main Entry: mis·de·mean·or
Pronunciation: "mis-di-'mE-n&r
Function: noun
: a crime that carries a less severe punishment than a felony; specifically : a crime punishable by a fine and by a term of imprisonment not to be served in a penitentiary and not to exceed one year —compare FELONY
I like TR`s take on immigration. Tom Tancredo is a TR Republican in that regard. Linda Chavez is a Bushie and she will stand with the President on an issue like this. Even if it means undermining US sovereignty. Truly pathetic.
"IRS issues ITINs to foreign nationals and others who have federal tax reporting or filing requirements and do not qualify for SSNs. A non-resident alien individual not eligible for an SSN, who is required to file a U.S. tax return only to claim a refund of tax under the provisions of a U.S. tax treaty, needs an ITIN.
Examples of individuals who need ITINs include:
Non-resident alien filing a U.S. tax return and not eligible for an SSN
U.S. resident alien (based on days present in the United States) filing a U.S. tax return and not eligible for an SSN
Dependent or spouse of a U.S. citizen/resident alien
Dependent or spouse of a non-resident alien visa holder"
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html#who
That is simply not true. 85% of all US citizens were born right here in the good old USA. That 85% are all native Americans.
The problem today is centered around open borders and illegal immigration. To deny that truth is absurd. The majority of illegal aliens come to the US not to assimilate into our society and culture, but to undermine the US employment system, our liberal social welfare system and to steal from the American people.
"First, illegal aliens are not currently criminals. They have committed a misdemeanor civil offense"
Persons who commit misdemeanors are, by definition, criminals - they just are not felons. Criminal records include misdemeanors. For it not to be a crime it would have to be a petty misdemeanor.
The Author starts out with incorrect information serving his agenda i.e illegal aliens are not criminals when, of course, they are.
Nor has he had lawful Mexican ranchers ask Minutemen for radio notification of any groups of illegals stealing and butchering cattle from their border-crossing staging areas.
Come get your education firsthand. On the New Mexico Border itself!
BTW, my mother came to the US via Ellis Island--back when honest immigrants had to satisfy residency and health requirements, then pass a written test--in English. (No vouchers for English classes for the honest, hardworking folk!)
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