Until we have security and some semblance of border control, most Americans will not support any benefits, amnesty, or whatever you want to do to help the illegal immigrant. This is the basic problem with your philosophy and those who supported the legislation. Security first. Then we will listen to other changes.
You need to impress upon us that you care more about us then you do illegal immigrants. And some of us have relatives waiting years to get in and the people you support can walk across tonight. THEY MUST GET IN LINE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!
Here is my proposal. Feel free to run with it.
1. Do the job you swore to do. Enforce the current laws. Support and reinforce the officers working the border. Support a federal law directing local police and other law enforcement to take action to detain and initiate deportation of those here illegally. Jail employers of illegal immigrants.
2. No benefits for those in the country illegally. Exception, those with true emergency medical conditions will receive treatment while their deportation is initiated.
3. Initiate a constitutional amendment to stop the anchor baby phenomenon.
4. Build the fence.
5. Change the immigration quotas to reflect real needs justified by industry and/or states. Make the justifications public. So the average American knows how many we are allowing in and why. We will support something logical, fair, and needed AFTER our security is taken care of.
Milton Friedman: A country cannot simultaneously be a welfare state and have open borders.
I keep wondering why WE have to foot the billion dollar bill for border security. WE are a superpower---we should demand Mehico do something about this.
Keep in mind that the US (that's us, the taxpayers) provides the nuclear defense umbrella to protect Mexico, so that Mehico has no real defense expenses. America needs to let Mexico know that we will cut off every penny in aid it gets from the United States unless they do something about border security.
Mexico can well-afford it. Mexico is a wealthy oil-producing neighbor. Mexico has more "Forbes" billionaires, 11, than all but eight other nations. It has more billionaires than Saudi Arabia, Switzerland or Taiwan. It also has more than 85,000 millionaires. According to a CNN report, Mexico sits on oil reserves worth about $400 billion, but Mexico's state-owned oil company, Pemex, doesn't have the investment funds to tap those reserves, and Mexico's Congress refuses to allow foreign investment in Pemex. Some observers say this is due to Mexican gov't corruption, and the obsession to line their own pockets. The government of Mexico---with all of its oil revenue----needs to be pitching in to protect the borders (AND taking care of its own people, not "outsourcing' them as wards of American taxpayers).
(2) Adding insult to injury American taxpayers are subsidizing foreign transfers to Mexico. America should mandate proof for all cash transfers out of the US and/or force all transferring agencies -- banks, credit unions, Amex, Western Union to collect a substantial withholding tax -- 50%, say -- on every unexplained foreign remittance. (The percentage Mehican politicans are getting from this $20-30 billion bundle must be considerable or else it would be stopped).
A Real Immigration Reform Plan
The FEDS-AB Act of 2007
F – Fence
E – Enforce Current Laws
D – Deport Illegals
S – Secure ID and Sanction Violators
AB – Repeal the “Anchor Baby” provisions of the current law.
1. Secure the Borders (Fence)
a. Install 750 miles of fence within 180 days. Priority funding.
b. Hire, train, and deploy 5,000 new border agents ASAP, with extreme urgency. Priority funding.
c. Use military surveillance hardware/personnel to monitor fenced areas and unfenced gaps. Priority funding.
2. Deport Illegal Aliens (Enforce and Deport)
a. Priority 1 - Any illegal alien who has committed a non-violent crime and is currently incarcerated is to be immediately deported and permanently banned from entry into the US.
b. Priority 2 – Any illegal alien who is arrested/detained/discovered during the course of normal police activities is to be finger-printed, deported and permanently banned from entry into the US.
c. Priority 3 – Any illegal alien who is discovered through active ICE investigation processes is to be finger-printed, deported and permanently banned from entry into the US.
Note – This is not a “hunt them all down” initiative. This means that we enforce the existing laws and deport illegals when they are found.
3. Positive Identification/Punish Employers of Illegal Aliens (Secure and Sanction)
a. Institute a National Visa Database (NVD). Data entered by ICE, accessed via web by all potential employers.
b. Require all persons entering the US for the purpose of working to submit to fingerprinting and photograph. This person is issued a uniquely numbered ID card issued from the NVD with photograph.
c. Require ALL employers to provide proof of legal status for all employees. $100,000 fine per illegal alien employed.
4. End the “Anchor Baby” Law (AB)
a. Repeal the law extending citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil.
b. Grant citizenship only to those born to American citizens and to those who have
i. Applied for U.S. citizenship AND
ii. been in the U.S. more than 1 year