You cannot win this battle by going after the illegals themselves. You have to focus on the employers that are their enablers. Make it so they can't get hired, and then they will no longer want to come to this country. That is the only way to win the war on illegal immigration, and make no mistake, it's a war.
Agreed, but that is what the GOP and the Wall Street Journal crowd just will not do or advocate. How can we convince them otherwise? Maybe American citizens need to find a way to shine the light and put the onus on the enablers among us, including you, GWB and GOP.
Agreed, 95% of the enforcement effort should be against those who employ illegals, and that in short order would solve 90% of the illegal immigration problem.
I agree and you won't have any luck with employers if you leave the enforcement job in the hands of ICE. It needs to be put in the capable hands of the IRS. We should make the following changes to the law:
1. Employers can use the Basic Pilot Project (BPP) optionally. If they use it and their employees are verified they are given safe harbor and they are presumed to have exercised due diligence and care. If they don't use it then they are 100% liable for taxes if an employee is later turns out to be an illegal.
2. Regardless of whether they use Basic Pilot Project (BPP) or not, give employees safe harbor from any discrimination legal problems if they refuse to hire an employee who cannot establish their identity with document that meet the requirements of the REAL ID Act.
3. Disallow payroll expenses as an income tax deduction for any employee that the IRS determines to be using a fake social security number. Give employers who use BPP safe harbor from this provision and hold employers who did not verify with BPP 100% liable for the additional taxes regardless of whatever documents they used. This disallowing of tax deduction would raise the effective cost of an illegal employee earning $10 per hour to about $16 per hour. It would make citizens much more attractive as employees even if they had to be paid more.
4. Give whistle blower citizens a 50% of any additional revenues collected bounty for any cases of abuse reported to the IRS.
If the IRS smells tax revenue, I guarantee they will enforce these laws like a pack of starving piranha.