The ultimate test for these advocates of open borders is this. Propose to them that we register all illegal aliens and rank them in tiers like this:
- The truly hardworking model illegal immigrant who wants to become an American citizen, but the law is just too complicated. People who have paid taxes, learned English and otherwise demonstrated their desire to be in this category would get first priority.
- Hardworking illegals who are not using social services, section 8 housing and at least making a demonstrated effort to learn English and pay some taxes.
- Those making minimal effort and breaking no other laws and also contributing more in taxes than they are consuming in social services.
- Those making minimal effort and breaking no other laws but also contributing less in taxes than they are consuming in social services.
- Those making no effort to demonstrate an interest in becoming Americans or even green card type residents who will contribute more in taxes than they will consume in social services.
- The petty criminal element who limits their criminality to minor stuff like shoplifting and using a single set of fake documents to consume social services.
- The hard core criminal element who uses multiple sets of fake documents to game and bilk the system.
- Gang members, terrorists, drug smugglers and others with links to organized crime and terrorist cells.
Now ask them, would you agree to permanently deporting and barring those in category #8 if we give green cards to those in category #1? I doubt that you would even get a majority of them to agree.
In fact, the last time a vote was taken on an amendment, it was proposed to bar only categories 7 and 8 and this was the result:
A realistic national debate would center on discussing amnesty or a special "path to citizenship" for only the first three categories. It would begin with getting rid of those in category 8 before we even started handing out green cards to those in category 1, because the last amnesty more than 20 years ago promised to do so and never delivered.
If Categories 6-8 were largely gone, most Americans would agree to a special path to citizenship for categories 1-3 and the remaining debate would be centered only on separating categories 4 and 5 and perhaps determining which of category 4 had a strong enough potential to move into categories 1-3 -- a far simpler process than what we have now!