Food for Thought
We Must Register All Well-Behaved Undocumented Immigrants
What person who is here illegally
(and in their right mind), will go to the government, announce being here illegally (e.g., plead guilty), provide all sorts of information as to where that person lives, etc. to get a work permit, only to be a target for deportation in two years? Greta Van Susteren
Now that the southern border is effectively closed, and as we continue with the aggressive deportation of criminal aliens, the all-important question remains: how do we humanely manage the 20- 30+ million undocumented residents already in our country? Technically, they are all
criminals who violated our immigration laws and are living in hiding in our
country, as clearly expressed by the new White House Press Secretary, Karoline
Leavitt, and the hardline promulgated by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem.
Nevertheless, do open borders, sanctuary cities and states, and a lack of immigration law enforcement, the granting of social and medical services, and economic assistance, constitute an invitation by the United States for poor people to come over? Regardless of which federal government administration was responsible, the actions were those of the U.S. as an actor on the world stage. We, as a nation, are morally liable
for the consequences. Treating law-abiding undocumented immigrants, whom we enticed to come over illegally, as criminals comes dangerously close to legal entrapment.
There are some things on which
both sides of the aisle can agree, as follows:
· Let's agree that the undocumented immigrants whom our nation has lured here with an open-border policy and who have become law-abiding, productive members of society and loyal to our nation must be granted gradual legalization and, ultimately, voting citizenship.
Let's agree that all criminal aliens should be deported at warp speed.
Let's agree that we should not cast a broad net to fish for all illegal immigrants in the general population.
It is common sense that we cannot deport tens of millions of human beings
inside our country; it would be cruel and create national chaos.
Let's agree that we will not grant another 'blanket amnesty'
for undocumented immigrants. We have done this in the past, seven times since
1986, without seriously preventing the ongoing flow of illegal entry. It was disingenuous and divisive, and it prolonged the suffering of the millions living in the shadows. So, the impasse continued.
Nevertheless, the American people have a right to know: Who are these people, where are they now, and who
among them are committing crimes? Where
are the 300,000+ unaccompanied children that the system lost, and if we are earnestly and urgently looking for them?
I
propose the following framework for a national immigration solution:
1 1. Restructure our legal immigration
system.
a. We must continue bringing large numbers of immigrants
through a legal process that must be expanded.
b. We should permit the American government, businesses, and institutions to recruit qualified personnel from around the world as long as those newcomers participate in the national registration program, express their intent to become Americans, learn the English language, and pledge allegiance to our nation instead of merely residing here.
2.
Begin a universal program of national
registration of undocumented residents.
a. Recruit the involvement of government agencies, churches,
and private non-government organizations.
b. A set registration period should be established, with
well-advertised national intake locations, for those undocumented immigrants
who pledge to become Americans through a mandatory, gradual legalization
program.
c. Those individuals participating in the national registration program shall be granted official identification documents and sanctuary from deportation.
d. Those
adequately registered would be granted conditional work permits.
e. When the authorities detect individuals who fail to register, they will face immediate deportation. Employers of any kind who provide work to unregistered undocumented immigrants would incur severe penalties, including potential imprisonment.
f. The next national population census must ask for and identify non-citizens; their voluntary disclosure must
grant them sanctuary from deportation, provided that they are also willing to participate in the national registration program.
We must
remain one nation under God, with a united population ruled by laws and
transparent to each other. We are the sovereign United States of America
in the global family of nations; borderless globalization is not yet possible.
