If I Made the Rules - Part 2: Immigration

One of the most frustrating aspects of congressional corruption is seen in the multiple attempts they've made to contravene American sovereignty by failing to enforce immigration laws, then forcing through legislation that grants amnesty to millions of foreigners who break those laws.  The unholy alliance between Democrats who see illegal immigrants as a permanent underclass beholden to Democrat politicians and Corporate interests who see illegal immigrants as a prime source of cheap labor.  Meanwhile neither has the best interests of average Americans, nor the illegal immigrants themselves, at heart.

I've posted my proposal to solve the problem of illegal immigrants before in this blog.  The solution is actually very simple, but only if and when politicians become willing to put aside their petty desires for power and wealth to find a truly just solution.

My solution remains the same.

First, get truly serious about protecting the border.  Rather than arguing about fences, my proposal is to beef up the Border Patrol to a level that permits them to actually be effective.  Give them the tools and resources they need to finally stem the flow of economic refugees streaming across the border.  Supplement them with State and Local Law Enforcement, to not only assist with capturing illegal border crossing, but also detain those illegals found in the normal course of police business.  Stop the unilateral policies of Obama that declared that all captured illegal immigrants be released unless they have a criminal record.

Second, enforce severe sanctions against employers who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.  Simply make e-verify required rather than optional.  Whenever the government receives a W2 they cannot match to a legal citizen, they simply contact the employer that generated that W2 and ask them to confirm or correct the record, in case there was a mistake.  Fines should be significant, perhaps double the annual earnings of each illegal immigrant employed for the second offense, with possible jail time for company officials if they continue to get caught breaking the law.

Third, the "path to citizenship".  I recognize there has to be some process created for the current millions of illegals in the country.  My proposal is to contract with Employment Agencies who work closely with a group of immigration judges to go through the paperwork of everyone here illegally that wants to stay and receive a temporary work permit.  The Employment Agencies work with the employers to confirm the first requirement for granting a work permit to an illegal - an employer that has agreed to employ that individual (or probably already has done so - this process must occur during a 1 year grace period in place before the full force of the employer enforcement)

The other requirements for illegals to receive a temporary work permit are as follows:
Demonstrate a baseline proficiency in spoken and written English
Have no criminal record beyond being in the country illegally

Or if those two criteria are not met, they may also be admitted if they can demonstrate they have sufficient personal wealth that they can guarantee they will not try to access welfare or food stamps or any other form of public assistance beyond those provided to citizens upon retirement (Social Security and Medicare)

Finally, those employment agencies will work closely with ICE to help supply labor to American companies.  They will first seek to fill company openings with American citizens.  Only when they cannot fill the openings will they seek a foreign worker, interview and test the foreign applicants, then serve as the conduit to issue the work permits from ICE and help place the foreign workers with their employers.

If cmopanies are telling the truth about needing good employees and being unable to find them among American citizens, this approach will help prove or disprove that claim.  It also will give preference to qualified foreign applicants, rather than the current reality that lets illegals who sneaked across the border grab the available jobs without more qualified applicants getting a fair shot.

It's very simple and cost-effective, as well as fair to everyone.  Why have we never heard a single politician propose anything like this?  I think its because a politician will gain nothing from this solution.  I've come to believe they won't do anything unless there's something in it for them.