Posted on 01/27/2013 6:51:35 PM PST by walford
Well, it looks like we’re finally going to have a substantive immigration discussion. Unfortunately, immigration is one of many issues the right always handles poorly. Whether it’s lack of information, general ignorance of immigration laws or what, I really can’t say, nor do I care to speculate. The immigration issue is a big one, not just in terms of political capital, but in the nuances of the laws themselves. Interestingly, it’s also the one issue where Republicans and Democrats agree on most contentions.
Depending on which estimates you consult, there are approximately 11 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the U.S.; some suggest anywhere from 7 – 20 million. Regardless of which figure you choose, the fact remains: there’s a very sizable population of people living outside our legal barriers but inside our legal borders. And this is where the right, at large, loses their ever-lovin’ minds.
For being the party of limited government, the party that reveres the federalistic musings of Jefferson, and the party that constantly criticizes federal government overreach, our only suggestion for handling millions of illegal immigrants requires massive government intervention; massive government intervention that would encroach on the lives of private citizens to an extent we’ve never seen. So let’s entertain this idea for a moment.
Supposing we did “round ‘em up and send ‘em home,” we would need a police force large enough to scour all fifty states. This law enforcement troop would have to track people down, because we don’t know where they are, well, most of them anyway. It’s reasonable to assume that not everyone would go willingly, so there would likely be casualties or at the very least, violent encounters. And if intel was less than accurate (and we all know the government would never make a mistake), we could expect collateral damage, but I suppose a few wrongfully busted doors is nothing and no one will be upset about having their Super Bowl party busted up, Christmas Vacation style because of government error.
I’m not arguing we should toss out the rule of law. I’m not making the case that allowing further illegal immigration is acceptable, what I am saying is that “sending them home” is not only impractical, it’s completely contrary to everything we claim we believe. Unless we want a government expansive enough to round up what equates to the entire population of Pennsylvania, we need to provide practical solutions. We can debate the merits of Rubio’s ideas, come up with new ones, whatever, but let’s leave the intellectual inconsistency and nanny statism to the left. If we expect to win the war of ideas, we have to have good ones.
...Elites in the Republican Party are complicit because they are beholden to commercial interests that are addicted to cheap, exploitable labor. Elites in the Democrat Party are complicit because they hope to buy their votes with taxpayer-funded benefits. Also a certain cadre welcomes the fact that these people come from places where questioning authority is hazardous to your health...
...Most Americans do not support mass deportation, but they don't support mass amnesty either. A far simpler and economical solution is to remove the incentives. All public assistance should be for U.S. citizens only. Neither should there be drivers licenses, in-state tuition [that actually favors illegals over legal immigrants and U.S. citizens living in other states] nor other rewards for violating our sovereignty. I invite anyone to review Mexico's immigration laws to see their hypocrisy when criticizing those of the United States.
Nobody says deport them.
Just stop giving them free stuff.
They'll deport themselves.
They can ALL be rounded up by small forces through attrition, every last one of them. You don’t have to get all of them at one time; that’s the biggest straw man argument ever and the amnesty crowd keeps bringing it back again and again. And there is precedent for a roundup and deport effort. It was called Operation Wetback, and took place in the 1950s.
And keep reminding republicans that if illegals stay, it will mean many new congressional districts and an inevitable growth of government that they claim to be trying to shrink.
It is very easy to make it so illegal aliens cannot get jobs and cannot get welfare...PLUS Give them $1000 and a free plane ticket home and they will GTFO (self-deport)
And build a fence and monitor and enforce all visas and those who seek to scam their way in here via visa overstaying as in permanently squatting here
Bingo. The solution to illegal immigration is the same as the solution to numerous other national problems: end proliferation of entitlements. Stop giving them a comfortable* life for free and they’ll either become productive or leave.
Immigration should be little more than screening for criminals and contagious diseases. Once here, ensure they understand they’re on their own. I welcome all who come in good faith to care for themselves and make their own way; if they’re not, they’ll find out the hard way in short order that their mere existence does not obligate others to support them.
“Round them up” requires the kind of government the Obama is trying to build: all knowing and all powerful. Don’t go there; don’t require IDs. “Where are your papers” is the key to totalitarianism, not freedom.
* - “comfortable” can entail very low standards, especially if someone else is footing the bill. Supporting a last chance safety net for the truly needy is very different.
Sending the illegals back home involves about 2 months worth off normal border traffic.
One of the primary constitutional obligations of the national government is to protect the states from invasion.
Article IV, Section 4
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.”
Just do it. Keep the oath.
Because a nation without borders is no longer a nation.
The article is shallow and sophomoric.
And if the illegals stay, it will mean the illegals will vote Democratic forever, and the Republicans will never win another election.
Any immigration reform that has a “path to citizenship” must be a path that requires self sufficiency meaning absolutely no reliance on government assistence for oneself or ones dependents before one can legally become a citizen and most importantly earn the right to vote. Let them apply for residency and work permits but we sure as hell don’t have to let them vote while they are dependent on the federal government. Also I believe that employers that employ these workers with work permits should face an additional tax if these workers take advantage of public assistance. I also think there should be a 10 year penalty for illegal immigrants before they can apply for full citizenship and earn voting rights. I’d also like to see an ammendment getting rid of anchor babies where children born to illegals become citizens automagically because one gives birth in the US versus Mexico. Citizenship should only be granted when at least one parent is a citizen. Currently that is not the case but it should be the case and we can’t have a full proof system till it is the case.
I’d also like to see a federal voter id requirement not just an employment id requirement. If we are going to be generous and open to granting residency permits and work permits we should know that these illegal immigrants aren’t stealing the votes of long standing citizens nor being used as near slave labor in place of citizens working for an honest wage. Right now I’d be happy with the 10 year penalty for coming here illegally and the self-sufficiency requirement for citizenship which I believe are more than reasonable requirements.
We also need strong enforcement. Anyone that tells you we can’t possibly processs 11 million illegal aliens are being intellectually dishonest. We process over 41 million speeding tickets and no one talks about the scale of that feat. Also no one talks about the several hundred million tax payers that Obamacare requires the healthcare insurance status be monitored so all the talk about the feasibility is smoke and mirrors. As enforcement increases we’d see a reduction of those cases that require enforcement. One of the reasons that so many come to the US is because of a long standing policy of partial and inconsistent enforcement. The last thing we want is to make illegal immigration not only easy but something that rewards those who commit what is without question a crime.
It would also be nice if we could deny all but emergency temporay access to public welfare programs. Also we should require that citizenship be verified not only at employers but by public service employees. If you can’t verify citizenship then it should be assumed someone is an illegal unless something indicates that is clearly not likely.
We need a hard fair system that doesn’t allow millions of wards of state to become citizens and voters in a forenight.
It is hardly inconsistent- nobody has a right to come into your house without permission; likewise, nobody has a right to come into the US without permission. If invaders (that is the proper term for people who come in without permission) were met with maximum hostility and not given government handouts then we wouldn’t have a problem.
We’ll be less than 20 years away from electing a president for life who prefers to be called “General”.
Gee...how about if you let local cops ask people their immigration status when they detain somebody for another charge?
The thing that pisses me off the most is the fact that the RINOs are joining in with the democrat tactic of overwhelming the public with issues so we won’t be able to fight them all.
When is the treatment of American citizens in Mexico and their rights vs US treatment of Mexicans going to be an issue when we discuss amnesty ?
Ever hear of reciprocal aggrements ? These are arranged to protect the rights of American citizens working or living in other countries.
Why is it when it comes to citizens of other countries we are required to offer them the same privledges as we do to US citizens? But when it comes to US citizens who get in trouble or attempt to do business in other countries they do not get the same treatment their citizens get.
Americans can’t own coast land in Mexico. And get no title to it elsewhere. If they run out of cash they’ll get unceremoniously sent back or put in jail untill some relative comes up with the “fresh”. That’s just for starters as for granting them voting privledges yea let’s give Mexican citizens that right when American citizens vote in their elections .
I’m not worried so much about the current illegals as I am about incentives.
What we cannot do, if we want to fix the problem, is to create incentives for more to immigrate illegally. That’s where Reagan went wrong in 1986.
By dealing with the current immigrants via an amnesty, we created an incentive for millions more to come, expecting to eventually get an amnesty, themselves.
We need immigrants - but we need them to be legal. Any purported solution that creates incentives for more to enter illegally will only make the problem worse.
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