Immigration Reform

There has been a lot of extreme partisanship from both major political parties, and it has intensified under the current administration.  The fact of the matter is that we have laws that either aren't enforced or don't work.  On top of that, we have one political party that benefits from "undocumented" immigrants, and therefore pushing to ignore the existing laws, causing the other party to take a hard line stance which comes across as heartless and racist as portrayed in the media.

I suggest that there are a few common-sense changes to the immigration laws that would help correct some of the issues, although it's unlikely either party would support taking a middle of the road approach.

We need to address the underlying drivers behind the largest source of illegal immigration, which are desire for a better life in the United States and desire for cheap labor to do jobs many Americans don't seem to want to do.

Here is how I would propose we rewrite the immigration laws:

1. Citizens of Mexico can get a work permit automatically and enter legally if they have a business willing to hire them as temporary/seasonal workers. They pay taxes and can apply for citizenship after 10 years of working at least 1000 hours a year in the US, paying taxes, and having no felony convictions. Businesses wanting to hire Mexican workers must submit an application that identifies the number of workers needed and date range and must provide transportation to and from the border for the workers they are sponsoring on the start and end date. Anyone already in the US once the law is enacted can apply to fill these positions and be issued work permits.


2. In order to ensure compliance, physical barriers should be put in place to relieve some of the burden on the border patrol.  There should be crossing points at regular intervals to allow temporary/seasonal workers to pass through with minimal hassle.  The main focus of the border patrol can be shifted to monitoring proper entry with fewer people needed to handle illegal crossings in the current porous border.


3. Citizens of Central or South American countries seeking asylum must come from a country and/or region on an eligibility list and must show proper identification and must come through proper ports of entry.


4. The definition for Natural Born Citizen should be clarified to be anyone born in the US to a citizen or permanent legal resident or born to a US citizen anywhere. Children born to legal residents with temporary work, study, or travel visas should not have automatic citizenship. However, if their parents become citizens eventually, those children should be eligible to become citizens. This may require a constitutional amendment.


5. Anyone in the country on a work permit can not vote or be counted in the census to determine representation. However, as taxpayers, they can be eligible for basic public services, but not for entitlement programs such as welfare programs or Medicare/Medicaid or for tax credits.

While this may not be perfect, it would form a solid basis for immigration reform, perhaps with a few tweaks and some additional detail.  We are a nation built by immigrants, and we need to continue to encourage immigration, but we also need to maintain control over our borders.