Do you really think “Deport all illegals” is going to work for anybody?It’s totally unrealistic.
That will come when the economic incentive that is currently there to hire illegal labor is erased by stronger enforcement and substantial penalties.
When the jobs are not available, they will go back home.
The proponents of amnesty are wont to create the false choice between a blanket amnesty and mass deportation of 12 to 20 million illegal aliens. In reality, we have other choices and alternatives that don’t reward people who have broken our laws with the right to stay and work here and an eventual path to citizenship. The 12 to 20 million illegal aliens did not enter this country overnight and they will not leave overnight. Attrition through enforcement works. We have empirical data from experiences in Georgia, Colorado, and Arizona proving that it does. Specifically, we need to:
• Secure the borders. You cannot deal with those already here illegally without cutting off the endless supply of those wanting to enter illegally. Until the borders are secured, it is absurd to discuss additional guest worker programs and amnesty.
• Fully implement the US-VISIT Program. There are over 4 million aliens now in illegal status, i.e., people who entered legally as tourists or students or temporary workers but did not leave when their visa expired. We need a system that tracks who enters and leaves the country and deport those who overstay their visas. More than 30% of our illegal alien population come from visa overstays.
• Enforce existing laws against employers. Jobs are the magnets that attract illegal aliens. The government’s failure to enforce existing laws against employers and to create a proper employee verification program must end. The highly successful and effective voluntary E-Verify program has been temporarily extended by Congress but its future is still in doubt. This essential tool for preventing the employment of illegal aliens should be made permanent and mandatory, especially at a time when close to 16 million Americans and legal residents are out of work.
• Implement 287[g] nationwide. The federal government must provide state and local law enforcement with the training and access to databases to coordinate and leverage existing law enforcement assets to identify and deport illegal aliens who are committing crimes that have killed or injured tens of thousands of Americans.
• Enact state and local laws to discourage illegal settlement. Eliminate sanctuary cities and other benefits that reward illegal aliens and legitimize their presence.
• Streamline judicial processing and adjudication of immigration cases.
In the 1986 amnesty legislation, we tried amnesty without enforcement. It’s time to try enforcement without amnesty.