The nation is getting all tangled up in this discussion over whether to build Trump’s Wall along our southern border.
Democrats and a growing number of Republicans don’t want it; Donald Trump’s followers — led by the cadre of talk-radio blowhards — are all for it.
What I am not hearing — maybe I’m not paying enough attention — is any serious discussion about how we might actually apply a permanent repair to the problem of illegal immigration.
How about turning our attention to serious immigration reform legislation?
We keep making feeble attempts at it. We get sidetracked and discouraged because too many members of Congress are resisting those calls for reform.
Then we hear about data that tell us that a huge percentage of those who are in the United States illegally are those whose work visas have expired. So, they arrive here legally but become illegal residents because those visas have run out. These one-time legal residence then are called “criminals” and “lawbreakers.” The become fodder for the president and his supporters to erect that wall along our southern border.
Can’t there be a concerted push to hire more administrative personnel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to process these visas or to speed up citizenship requests from those who want to become Americans?
The president did offer a form of compromise during that partial government shutdown by suggesting a three-year reprieve from deportation for so-called Dreamers, those who were brought here as children when their parents sneaked in illegally. That’s a start. However, Donald Trump connected that idea with more money to build his wall, which made it a non-starter for those who oppose The Trump Wall.
So now the president has declared a “national emergency.” There is no such thing on our border with Mexico. The only “emergency,” it seems to me, rests with the interminable delays that occur when foreign-born residents’ work visas run out or when they seek citizenship to the Land of Opportunity.
How about getting busy applying a permanent repair to the problem?
I’m thinking that one of the best ways is to require registration of all immigrants. Start on Jan 1, 2020. All immigrants born in January must register at the local courthouse , Followed each month by those or head of household in their respective birth month.by (Government funding can provide funding for additional personnel and equipment) Heads of house may register their family members at the same time. Registration requires a photograph and fingerprints ( Fingerprints can not be utilized for investigations of past illegal activities (self-incrimination) how ever may be used if arrested for a crime committed after registration) Then as of 2021, those not registered, will not be eligible for Welfare Benefits or Food Stamps. This provides incentive for registration.
Assist them with a path to citizenship, education for their children, and job opportunities. Help them to become tax paying citizens and residents.
I’m not against legal immigration. I am against illegal immigration. I’m willing to give them an opportunity to become productive and respected citizens and residents.