NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
"The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt
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NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC. "The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt |
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January 18, 2004
The Illegal Alien Amnesty
Is it reform or amnesty for millions of illegal aliens?
The President’s recent Immigration reform package sounds like a great plan, however the devil is in the details.
The plan calls for a guest worker program which would apply to roughly 8-12 million illegal aliens already in the county and would eventually apply to those outside the U.S. These visas would be issued for a period of 3 years which are renewable as long as the employer certified that a job was available. For those here illegally, they would have to show that they have been working in the U.S. for 3 years. As the IRS has issued Individual Taxpayer Identification cards to illegals to collect taxes, the proof would not be difficult.
The details: This program allows the workers to travel freely back and forth to their home countries, the ability to bring their families to the U.S. (reverse migration), full participation in the social security system (without working the required number of quarters-Equalization Treaty), access to workers compensation benefits, medical benefits and educational benefits.
These details would certainly qualify this program as a broad based amnesty. It is rewarding those who came here illegally and will encourage millions of those who are ready to come. With these types of benefits, is it quite unlikely that these “guest” workers would want to return home.
This type of amnesty was used before. The 1986 Immigration Reform Act allowed 3 million illegal aliens to become legalized. This step was taken in order to legalize those who were illegally here and use it as a starting point to enforce our immigration laws. The problem is with lax or non-existent enforcement. With only 9000 Boarder Officers, 2000 INS Agents and less than 300 Agents to investigate employers who hire illegals, is it any wonder why we have 8-12 million illegal immigrants. Furthermore, the Treasury Department encouraged the use of Mexican Consular ID cards by illegals to open bank accounts. Many states like New York give in state tuition rates to illegals and provide other benefits.
The President stated that he wanted to match those willing to work with willing
employers. This goal should apply to U.S. workers not workers from other
countries. To say that illegal immigrants do the jobs most Americans will not
do is an outright falsehood. The mass immigration of illegals has caused wages
to become depressed resulting in low wages. The construction industry is one
example. The question is what is the cost on the back end i.e. medical, housing,
schools, etc by allowing mass immigration.
The
President's first obligation is to provide for our national defense. This is not
achieved by open boarders or amnesty (no matter what you may call it). As most
of the 911 hijackers were illegal aliens, we should focus our efforts on boarder
enforcement. Certain Visas should be limited and visitors must be monitored by
the INS. If terrorists from Saudi Arabia
can sneak in without detection, who else can?
The problem with the debate is the meshing of illegal and legal immigration.
Most Americans while they support immigration do not support illegal
immigration. All of the hyperbole about immigrant bashing is a deflection of
the real issue, unchecked migration into the United States. To say we have 8-12
million illegals and nothing can be done is dishonest. We can sanction those
employers who hire illegal aliens, hire more Boarder officers, INS officers, and
Deport illegal aliens. This is our immigration policy.
What is more important, the people's interests or the special interests? Mexican President Fox is not a citizen of America. The American people realize that reform is needed, the type of reform that means enforcing our immigration laws. Anything less is capitulation to appeasement which will lead to our destruction.
“Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide”. John Adams. letter to John Taylor, April 15, 1814