Posted by
Glen Albrethsen on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 8:28:56 PM
Let's do a little bit of straight talk about the U.S.-Mexico border, shall we?
While drug running and other illegal activities do draw some undocumented aliens to cross the border, the vast majority come here to work. In many cases, they come here because they've been told by friends or relatives that life here is wonderful, that jobs are plentiful, and that they can make more here in a day than they would in weeks back home, if they can find a job.
That's why the men come here, anyway.
Women, if they come up with their husbands or separately, may also come to work, but there is an additional purpose. If their child is born here, regardless of their own personal status, the child becomes an American citizen. I dare say all border states, if not every state, provides some degree of services for pregnant women, regardless of their resident status, as long as they meet the poverty levels. And they do.
We have become the economic solution for some of our southern neighbors. If they are not official policies of their respective nations, they sure seem to squawk a lot on Spanish television any time someone starts talking tough about border enforcement, or crackdowns on illegal immigration.
There is a great amount of talk about securing the border. I don't know that I'm in favor of a wall or fence. I think the cost to do it is too high, and I think we'll be needing to build a border fence to the north, too, because people who really want to come here--people desperate enough to save up $3,000-$5,000 or more to cross deserts, ford rivers, and trek thousands of miles in some cases without adequate food, drink, sleep or hygienic situations aren't going to be stopped by a wall.
Some have already defied portions of that wall where it exists, by either going over it or under it, or just entering at some other point. It will cost millions of dollars to build that fence, and to set it up with whatever security surveillance equipment, and then more millions to man it.
If we've got to spend money on border security, then we should spend it on border patrol, and put some more people to work.
However, I think we can take care of illegal immigration more effectively, without needing a thousand-plus mile border fence/wall, and by adding some border patrol agents (or maybe not using so many of our National Guard abroad).
The employer verification system.
We need to remember that either out of ignorance or on purpose, American companies are employing illegal immigrants. Right now they can say that they don't know if documents are false or not.
With a verification system in place, something similar to a credit check, an employer could determine whether or not the documents they're being handed are good or not. If they're good, then they can decide to hire them based on skills, experience, etc. If they're not, then they simply tell them their identification isn't valid.
I tell you, though, based on what I know about the Hispanic population, and I think I know as much as anyone who is not Hispanic or here illegally can, as soon as word gets out that the employer verification program is up and running and that employers are required to check to see if their current employees have legal social security numbers and alien verification, people will just start leaving. Most of them will not want to risk it, and they will go back to their country of origin.
I know that it sounds too simple to be true, but the majority are decent, hardworking people, who's offense is being here without following the rules of immigration because they think they can improve their quality of life. Can't fault them for wanting to do that.
At the same time, I don't think they should have the same benefits extended to them as citizens or legal residents. Work and free medical benefits are magnets. That's why they are here. Take away the work, and they will go elsewhere.
If they can scrape enough money up to pay coyotes, they can save up money to get the legal immigration ball rolling. Many of these folks have relatives up here, and some of them have already been doing that. The rest could help out, too, or they could fend for themselves.
That may sound heartless. Personally, I think the countries from where these folks come from have some responsibility in it. Certainly the people themselves should understand that the U.S. is a nation of laws, of order, and that immigration is not simply crossing the border and staying.
Illegal immigration was not as big an issue 40 years ago as it is now. It became an issue later and came to a head in the 1980s and an amnesty bill was passed to take care of those few million undocumented living in the country. There was also provisions for employer verification and a fence in that bill. Well, the people here then were granted legal status, but other than that, the rest is yet to take place. The border fence is still not complete, has been running into legalities over private property rights, and their is no adequate employer verification system.
And guess what, there are at least double, if not triple the number of illegal immigrants here now than there were 20 years ago. Many of them employed, using falsified documents, or being paid under the table, waiting for the next round of amnesty, or betting that an ICE raid won't take place at their place of employment.
Take away the incentives for coming here, and you might not completely end illegal immigration, but you will significantly stop the arterial bleeding. And you will do it for significantly less than a fully secured and manned border fence, and you will put the responsibility on employers and the immigrant workers where it belongs.