With every passing day the issue of illegals immigration grows with the solutions to it becoming more and more radical. Some people, in a thin veiled attempt at doubling their voter base, are in favor of complete and total amnesty. Other people, in a fun little callback to the world's fascist phase, want police storming through the streets and throwing people into the back of vans for mass deportation. With the rhetoric among the parties getting worse and worse it is so often hard to remember that there is a simple solution to the immigration problem that, with a little compromise, could be a very effective solution.
Let me get to the crux of the issue. Yes, I am aware that illegal immigrants have broken the law, yes I am aware that some of them have turned to excess crime and yes I am aware that the legal right to deport them exists. However, if it was really that simple an issue we wouldn't be having a problem with immigration right now would we? Furthermore, the overall peacefulness of illegal immigration must be acknowledged. It is a fact that some criminals come here but it is also a fact that the majority of them truly are hardworking people looking for a better life. We cannot hope to achieve a resolution if illegal immigrants are continued to be demonized as some type of enemy.
Before I get into my solution I want to address two common misconception about illegal immigration. The first being, the border. While securing the border is a good idea to send a message it's not the most practical when it comes to barring illegal immigration. Most illegals don't come here, hopping the fence, they come here on 'vacation' and never leave. If the sole plan to keeping out illegal immigration is to build a wall and deploy some drones then, we'll be in for a bit of a surprise and a bit of a bill when it's all said and done. The second misconception I want to address is illegal immigrants in the workforce and by that I mean yes illegal immigrants are stealing American jobs. Maybe not in the field but a lot of the blue collar jobs one could support a family on; landscaping, construction, electrician , plumbing etc are being poached by illegal immigrants and with the rising price and requirements for a college education that is a serious issue for the younger generation of Americans. However, the agricultural industry reports nearly 70% of their workforce is illegal labor and massive deportation would be crippling to the industry.
I am aware that, even among the moderates, there are two opposing solutions to immigration and I will try my best to appease both. The first camp, in favor of deportation, and I am proud to say there is a solution that doesn't require police riding around like Gestapo and, even better, no new laws will have to be passed. All you would have to do is enforce the already existing laws regarding illegal immigration and employment. If the government were to enforce the existing laws regarding illegal immigration the illegals would either have the option of returning to their nation of origin or go hungry. Simple as that. To be said, building a wall would be a catastrophic undertaking.
During the Bush Administration, there was a passed bill 'Secure Fence Act of 2006' to secure a third of the border with fencing. It cost 5 billion dollars and didn't work primarily due to the undertaking of working in a desert combined with a fact that a fair amount of land on the border is either privately owned or owned by native American tribes. People often point to the Great Wall of China and say "if they can do it so can we" which is true but the Great Wall took 20 years, involved conscripted labor and killed about 1,000,000 people in the process so it's probably not a good model to follow.
However, for those that support a sense of cohabitation, I push forward this moderate proposal, starting with the penalties and restrictions.
First and foremost adult men and women that came here illegally have to go to the back of the line. Fair is fair and some justice does need to be done. Any adult illegal immigrant who has committed a crime is to be deported upon being found guilty. No discussion, no sanctuary, and they're to be imprisoned if they try to return. As for the illegal immigrants brought over as babies and raised in America I propose citizenship upon the acquisition of a college degree, of any level or enlistment in the U.S armed forces. Secondly, the ability to speak English must be enforced. All government documents should exclusively be in English and there are more than enough government sponsored English tutors for illegal immigrants to take advantage of. Illegal immigrants claim they come here to want to be a part of America, its time for them to prove it and double down on assimilation. Obviously, they would not be barred from voting and holding public office and they would only be allowed to receive government benefits if they can prove that they're paying income taxes.
Next, what they can do. Thankfully this is a pretty simple paragraph because, essentially, it boils down to 'participate in the free market'. They can get a driver's license because they need it to buy private insurance. They can own property, they can buy goods and they can give services.
The true shame is the state our immigration system has gotten into. 100 years ago the immigration system was very simple. You go to Ellis Island and if you didn't have any diseases you were able to come in and you were a citizen. The reason this was so is because, as a free capitalist nation, we weren't plagued with the carriage population of Europe where a careful balance had to be constructed between givers and takers. 100 years ago every person who was here was a contributing member to the capitalist ideals with zero strain on our national economy.However, with the rise of social programs, the balance between givers and takers had to be erected which is the root of today's problem. Taking extreme action on illegal immigration is merely attacking the symptom, not the disease.
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