A: No.
...next question.
I'm flagging here because you've posted on this thread, and I'm keeping a running tally of the answers to the question:
Should all or some portion of the Illegal Aliens be granted an Amnesty and be thereby allowed to change their status and acquire legal residence in the United States?
Responses to this very unscientific poll are breaking down into the following categories:
1. Support blanket Amnesty
2. Support partial Amnesty
3. Support no Amnesty
4. Did not state
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to tell from your replies on the thread what your answer would be. While I think I have an idea for some of you, there have been a few surprises, so I've scored you as "Did not state."
If you'd like to clarify that, let me know.
Thanks.
1. Support blanket Amnesty -
2. Support partial Amnesty -
3. Support no Amnesty -
4. Did not state -1
7
154
14
You may notice that the tally for "Did not state" has declined since the last update. A few folks clarified their positions, thus the change.
I'll update this periodically. If you've not offered an opinion yet, please feel free to do so. Or if you know people who haven't, feel free to flag them here.
Thanks.
"Head 'em up, move 'em out."
Several parties have privately asked me to comment on this thread, and post my thoughts. I know this thread is about amnesty, but any amnesty must be incorporated into an entire revamping of how the US manages its immigration system.
First off, I want to apologize for the length of this post, but I want to do this all at once.
Secondly I would like to congratulate Sabertooth for trying to keep this thread civil. This will be the last time I use anyone's screen name.
I usually try to stay away from threads like this because it inevitably turns ugly between the two predominate groups. I personally do not consider myself to be in either group, and am aligned some where down the middle.
Most everyone here somewhat educated in the history and problems with our current immigration system. What I bring to the table is the perspective from inside the system. I have worked for the INS since 1997 and spent my first 2 ½ years along the Mexico border. I am also a 12-year veteran of the Marine Corps Infantry.
Mexico makes up the majority of illegal aliens in this country, so my comments will be geared toward that country and it's people. Do not call me a racist because of this. No other 1st world country shares a 2,000-mile border with a 3rd world country. Mexico is a problem, not the Mexican people. To be brutally honest, the stupidest people I've encountered in the INS is the average American.
THE INVASION
This term has been tossed around a lot on this and other threads and I have personally used it and do so for a reason. Numbers. The sheer numbers of illegal aliens crossing our borders equates to an invasion. The majority of these illegal aliens are here for work and money, not to take over the country or do this country harm, but on the other hand, there are people out there that will use this mass of people to do just that. Not every loves America, and that goes for some of our citizens.
So the question is: How do we control and stop this invasion.
This is an issue of supply and demand, and if we concentrate on the supply, we have lost. Just look at the war on drugs. The Government has concentrated on the supply, ignored the demand and we have lost that war. Drugs flow freely into the US, or the drug makers just come here and make the drugs within the US. If we do the same with the immigration issue, we will loose.
Why do these illegal aliens come to the United States? Work and Money. I've talked to hundreds of these folks in the past 5 years and it's always the same. "I came to find work", "There are no jobs in Mexico", I need money to support my family", ect…
So to fix the problem, we must start inside the United States and work outward to Mexico and Canada.
The first two things that must happen are employer sanctions and cut off any form of welfare to any illegal immigrant.
We must get serious with employer sanctions. The penalties must be so severe that no one would dream of hiring an illegal alien. Employers must go to jail and assets must be seized and sold off to pay for the cost of enforcing immigration laws.
Currently, the INS must give 48 to 72 hours notice before showing up at a business, with that much notice, it's no wonder these employers a thumb there noses at the laws.
Next is to cut off welfare and benefits to everyone except US citizens. Yes everyone but US citizens. I will cover legal immigrants at the end of the post.
If there were no jobs and the government would stop giving benefits to people illegally in this country, these people would leave or better yet, never show up.
These are the most important things that must be done and will do more for reducing the number of illegal aliens crossing or living in the US. Cut off what they are looking for and they will not come.
Next we must control the border. This is the most controversial part of the plan. We could build a wall as some of you have suggested. I personally disagree with that method. I really do not want our borders to look like Berlin during the cold war, and walls can be breached.
The other popular opinion is to place the military on the border. On this I am mixed. I am against placing infantry units along the border or manning a wall. That money could be better spent. Sending military police units to help the border patrol would be ok, but what needs to be done is just allowing the Border Patrol to do their job. Placing an agent on an "X" in the desert works against controlling the border. The Border Patrol should be an active mobile force, not a stationary, ineffective security guard.
Coupled with the reduced numbers created by enforcing the interior immigration laws, the Border Patrol could handle the illegal aliens coming across the border.
The final part of the plan, and probable the most difficult is to turn Mexico into a 1st world country. If Mexico had an economy and middle class like us and Canada, that would take care of 80% of our immigration problem. I'm not an expert in this area, so I won't comment on how it should be done, but I can tell you it needs to be done.
Along with the enforcement of the interior and the borders, several other things need to be done.
Legal immigration
The total number of legal immigration needs to be reduced, the diversity visa program needs to be abolished and the anchor baby problem needs to be eliminated.
Legal residents need to be required to become citizens or return to their home country. Believe it or not, Bill Clinton had a good plan when he first became president. When a legal resident reached his five-year mark, he must either apply for citizenship or extend his residency for 5 years. At the end of the second five-year mark, the legal resident must apply for residency or turn in his resident card and return to his home country and lose the right to immigrate in the future. Coupled with this, the citizenship test must be tightened up and enforced.
Guest Workers
This is another hot topic. Some people are for a guest worker program and some against one. First off, we have a guest worker program. It's called the "H" visa. If we need workers, then have them apply for an "H" visa.
The first thing is to create a new "H" category for general employment, second restrict "H" visas to the actual need. Don't say we are going to grant 10,000 "H" visas each year. Make the employer prove he has a need for the visa and grant them on a case-by-case basis.
Secondly, do not let anyone adjust from the working visa to a legal resident, unless it is to marry a USC. The current "H" visa program is a back door to legal immigration. This door must be shut.
Amnesty
All of the current and past amnesties are unacceptable. In post #000 I outlined the only amnesty I would approve of. This would be only for illegal aliens married to US citizens, and would be part of my overall package of immigration reform. That proposal is not perfect and some of you may disagree with it, but I have personal reason for wanting to keep legitimate families together.
Summery
All of the above reforms or proposals are very general in terms and I'm sure some of you may find flaws in them. If you would like to have a friendly discussion about them, then feel free to post back to me. If you're just going to grip and complain, then feel free to post also, but don't expect a reply.
From what I've seen on this thread and others, is that almost everyone agrees that illegal immigration is bad and needs to be controlled, but not everyone agrees on how to do it. Too many times, people get pissed off and baited into an argument on the issue. You know who does not agree with you, so ignore that person. All the arguing in the world won't change his or her mind.
Jim Robinson has said, that to get control of the borders we need to vote out the Democrat's. Unfortunately, IMHO, that won't work. There are just as many Republicans that are for open borders as there are Democrat's, the President being one.
For anything useful to happen, we as conservatives and republicans, need to work together, or the problem will not be solved. Each and every one of us needs to get out and get involved in our communities and inform people about the problems surrounding illegal immigration. There are many Internet sites that can give you good information to use as ammunition. Study the information, inform the masses and don't get baited into an argument.
Most of you people are in a better position to get out and get involved, because of my position in INS, I am limited as to what I can do. I can't talk to the media or get involved in local politics, but you can. I'll be happy to get you whatever information I can, so feel free to ask.
Sincerely,
MI