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thesacrosanct on his post about the issues in illegal immigration. It got a bit long so I decided to post it on my journal.
enjoy
First off the problem with Neal Boortz and many other would be political commentators, is they present appealing sounding notions that fall apart when faced with the reality. He presents the same reactionary policies that so many before him have. It presupposes the problem with illegal immigration is so bad as to actually be a threat to people in general. This is not the case. Does it present some challenging issues, yes. Is it making you any less safe when you walk down the street, no. The vast majority of illegal immigrants have no interest in stealing or hurt from you or anyone else. They want to work and make enough money to bring their families out of the crushing poverty in Mexico. He is using that fear of the people we don't know to increase his listenership and sell some books or articles. Nothing new there. Nothing accurate in his statements either but that is to be expected.
1. Close the borders. Not next month. Not next week. Now. Right by-God now. Send the National Guard. Send American troops. What are they for if not to defend the borders of this country? Start stringing the barbed wire. Patrol with dogs. Do whatever needs to be done, but shut the border down.[I've been all for this for a long time, except I'm for a physical wall. I bet with the money earned from #3 below you could organize another US Army division. Make it like Korea, if you volunteer for the division you get to choose your next assignment. That would make people want to serve in the unit, and it be stateside no less.]
Okay, on point one I am not sure where to begin. First off the cost of maintaining a complete shut down of the 1,951 mile long border is so large as to border on being worse than the supposed problem. To maintain the level of presence required would take 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers in a division minimum. The Army only has 10 at the moment. With them involved Iraq, the possible conflict in Iran, the occupation of afganistan the border in south Korea and the various other military commitments around the world they are going to be hard pressed to come up with the force to meet that. They would need to make a new division with more people which their having a hard time recruiting right now anyway. Also the monetary cost could be measured in billions. Also approximately 350 million people every year come across the Mexican border legally. The level of commerce and tourist dollars you would eliminate would be so large as to be staggering. Lastly the border is pointless. As it is surrounded on either side by ocean we see a sudden influx of boat traveling illegals. What are we to do then, increase the coast guard roster too? Where are we getting money for all of this? Wouldn't that money be better spent elsewhere on something thats a real problem?
2. Immediately pass legislation providing for harsh penalties for any and all businesses and individuals who hire illegal aliens. No half-measures. Make it hurt. Two weeks ago immigration officials arrested over 1000 illegal aliens working for one company that makes pallets and shipping crates. The officers of that company should be headed to jail, and the company should be seized by the government and sold at auction with the proceeds being used to pay for securing our border. Put employers in jail --- take their stuff. Let them know that this is serious and that hiring illegal aliens is tantamount to giving aid and comfort to the enemy. The hell with their campaign contributions. Fine them and jail them. Make 'em scream. As for getting these jobs done? Pay a wage that will attract Americans. It won't hurt. The majority of people working in agriculture and construction in this country are citizens. They'll do the work.[Been for this for a while in all fairness. You can't just penalize the workers, you have to go for the employers]
On the second point I believe there is some middle ground here. First off the laws concerning the hirering of illegal immigrants can be quite harsh. They get a steadily increasing level of fines for every time they are caught doing so. When dealing with companies and corporations it becomes very hard to go after them with a jailable crime due to the inherent liability shield involved in corporations. Rather stick to hurting them place where it counts. Increase the fines if you like but money is how you punish companies generally.
3. Heavily tax all wire and other transfers of money from illegal aliens to their homelands -- or just take all of the earnings! . If Mexico is getting $20 billion a year from illegal aliens in the U.S., seize about 30% of it. Call it a fine. If you can show that the money was earned here illegally there would be absolutely nothing wrong with taking a bit of it when it is sent back to Mexico to shore up Vicente. Look ... if you drive by a car and solicit a prostitute the cops can confiscate your car. You were using that car in the commission of a crime, it can be taken. If you sell illegal drugs the government can confiscate the money you earned selling those drugs ... and the government can do it under asset forfeiture laws without even proving that you were guilty of a crime. All they need is a reason to believe that you committed a crime. If, in fact, you earned that money legally you can sue the government to get your money back. Same rule for illegal aliens. Confiscate their cash. Take their paychecks. That is money earned during the commission of a crime. If they can prove they earned it legally, let them have it back. This would be a lot of money that could be spent on border and immigration control. [That's a new one, and there was a bill in Georgia that was defeated that had this provision. Sounds good to me.]
The third one is flat out illegal. Seizing funds with out due process of law is illegal and ethically unsupportable.
4. Put an end to providing all but emergency social services to illegal aliens. No food stamps, no welfare benefits, no access to taxpayer-funded government schools ... no taxpayer-funded government services except for life saving medical care. [I've been for this for a long time]
I would agree in some parts here. Welfare benefits should not go to illegal immigrants. But by law it should not happen anyway. Perhaps increased funding can be given to police welfare fraud. As to the schools issue well this is not so clear. First off the 14th amendment to the constitution actually says if you are born here then you are a citizen. So all the children of all the illegal immigrants who have been here long enough for their kids to go to school have a right to go to those schools. Also due we really want to be in the business of telling children who want to learn, no matter their nation of origin, that they need to go elsewhere. I will always support a child's right to go to school unless he is carrying a gun or some other actual threat to safety.
The real issue here is the illegality of the way these people enter the country. The problem here is they don't have a viable alternative. The economic conditions in Mexico are really bad. Have been for decades. And entering the united states as a worker or actually immigrant is remarkably difficult. There are no more than 120,000 people allowed into this country from the western hemisphere as immigrants legally in each year. Others must go through some rather arcane processes just to get a work visa that may end in a few months. Unless you are a skilled professional we don't want you apparently.
Here is what I purpose. Loose the quota or raise it to a half million every year. Make citizenship easier not harder. Make it a bonus if you participate in the system.
Require proof of Citizenship from their country of origin.
That they do not have any communicable diseases(no ebolla please)
A hundred bucks for the processing.
Swear the oath.
Also make the process take 5 days. If you are not going to find the records in five days through electronic search then chances are if there is something wrong it will be months before you realize it. By then it is to late. They should also be issued id that must be really hard to fake and reported when they get a job. After five years the id is not needed. Congratulations your a citizen, who pays taxes. Obeys the law and oh yeah contributes to the economy. The financial and cultural exchange between national neighbors is important to cementing the peace in any region. Even this one. By allowing an easier commerce and exchange between us and Mexico we may actually improve conditions in Mexico there by making the issue also less important.
thesacrosanct on his post about the issues in illegal immigration. It got a bit long so I decided to post it on my journal. enjoy
First off the problem with Neal Boortz and many other would be political commentators, is they present appealing sounding notions that fall apart when faced with the reality. He presents the same reactionary policies that so many before him have. It presupposes the problem with illegal immigration is so bad as to actually be a threat to people in general. This is not the case. Does it present some challenging issues, yes. Is it making you any less safe when you walk down the street, no. The vast majority of illegal immigrants have no interest in stealing or hurt from you or anyone else. They want to work and make enough money to bring their families out of the crushing poverty in Mexico. He is using that fear of the people we don't know to increase his listenership and sell some books or articles. Nothing new there. Nothing accurate in his statements either but that is to be expected.
1. Close the borders. Not next month. Not next week. Now. Right by-God now. Send the National Guard. Send American troops. What are they for if not to defend the borders of this country? Start stringing the barbed wire. Patrol with dogs. Do whatever needs to be done, but shut the border down.[I've been all for this for a long time, except I'm for a physical wall. I bet with the money earned from #3 below you could organize another US Army division. Make it like Korea, if you volunteer for the division you get to choose your next assignment. That would make people want to serve in the unit, and it be stateside no less.]
Okay, on point one I am not sure where to begin. First off the cost of maintaining a complete shut down of the 1,951 mile long border is so large as to border on being worse than the supposed problem. To maintain the level of presence required would take 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers in a division minimum. The Army only has 10 at the moment. With them involved Iraq, the possible conflict in Iran, the occupation of afganistan the border in south Korea and the various other military commitments around the world they are going to be hard pressed to come up with the force to meet that. They would need to make a new division with more people which their having a hard time recruiting right now anyway. Also the monetary cost could be measured in billions. Also approximately 350 million people every year come across the Mexican border legally. The level of commerce and tourist dollars you would eliminate would be so large as to be staggering. Lastly the border is pointless. As it is surrounded on either side by ocean we see a sudden influx of boat traveling illegals. What are we to do then, increase the coast guard roster too? Where are we getting money for all of this? Wouldn't that money be better spent elsewhere on something thats a real problem?
2. Immediately pass legislation providing for harsh penalties for any and all businesses and individuals who hire illegal aliens. No half-measures. Make it hurt. Two weeks ago immigration officials arrested over 1000 illegal aliens working for one company that makes pallets and shipping crates. The officers of that company should be headed to jail, and the company should be seized by the government and sold at auction with the proceeds being used to pay for securing our border. Put employers in jail --- take their stuff. Let them know that this is serious and that hiring illegal aliens is tantamount to giving aid and comfort to the enemy. The hell with their campaign contributions. Fine them and jail them. Make 'em scream. As for getting these jobs done? Pay a wage that will attract Americans. It won't hurt. The majority of people working in agriculture and construction in this country are citizens. They'll do the work.[Been for this for a while in all fairness. You can't just penalize the workers, you have to go for the employers]
On the second point I believe there is some middle ground here. First off the laws concerning the hirering of illegal immigrants can be quite harsh. They get a steadily increasing level of fines for every time they are caught doing so. When dealing with companies and corporations it becomes very hard to go after them with a jailable crime due to the inherent liability shield involved in corporations. Rather stick to hurting them place where it counts. Increase the fines if you like but money is how you punish companies generally.
3. Heavily tax all wire and other transfers of money from illegal aliens to their homelands -- or just take all of the earnings! . If Mexico is getting $20 billion a year from illegal aliens in the U.S., seize about 30% of it. Call it a fine. If you can show that the money was earned here illegally there would be absolutely nothing wrong with taking a bit of it when it is sent back to Mexico to shore up Vicente. Look ... if you drive by a car and solicit a prostitute the cops can confiscate your car. You were using that car in the commission of a crime, it can be taken. If you sell illegal drugs the government can confiscate the money you earned selling those drugs ... and the government can do it under asset forfeiture laws without even proving that you were guilty of a crime. All they need is a reason to believe that you committed a crime. If, in fact, you earned that money legally you can sue the government to get your money back. Same rule for illegal aliens. Confiscate their cash. Take their paychecks. That is money earned during the commission of a crime. If they can prove they earned it legally, let them have it back. This would be a lot of money that could be spent on border and immigration control. [That's a new one, and there was a bill in Georgia that was defeated that had this provision. Sounds good to me.]
The third one is flat out illegal. Seizing funds with out due process of law is illegal and ethically unsupportable.
4. Put an end to providing all but emergency social services to illegal aliens. No food stamps, no welfare benefits, no access to taxpayer-funded government schools ... no taxpayer-funded government services except for life saving medical care. [I've been for this for a long time]
I would agree in some parts here. Welfare benefits should not go to illegal immigrants. But by law it should not happen anyway. Perhaps increased funding can be given to police welfare fraud. As to the schools issue well this is not so clear. First off the 14th amendment to the constitution actually says if you are born here then you are a citizen. So all the children of all the illegal immigrants who have been here long enough for their kids to go to school have a right to go to those schools. Also due we really want to be in the business of telling children who want to learn, no matter their nation of origin, that they need to go elsewhere. I will always support a child's right to go to school unless he is carrying a gun or some other actual threat to safety.
The real issue here is the illegality of the way these people enter the country. The problem here is they don't have a viable alternative. The economic conditions in Mexico are really bad. Have been for decades. And entering the united states as a worker or actually immigrant is remarkably difficult. There are no more than 120,000 people allowed into this country from the western hemisphere as immigrants legally in each year. Others must go through some rather arcane processes just to get a work visa that may end in a few months. Unless you are a skilled professional we don't want you apparently.
Here is what I purpose. Loose the quota or raise it to a half million every year. Make citizenship easier not harder. Make it a bonus if you participate in the system.
Require proof of Citizenship from their country of origin.
That they do not have any communicable diseases(no ebolla please)
A hundred bucks for the processing.
Swear the oath.
Also make the process take 5 days. If you are not going to find the records in five days through electronic search then chances are if there is something wrong it will be months before you realize it. By then it is to late. They should also be issued id that must be really hard to fake and reported when they get a job. After five years the id is not needed. Congratulations your a citizen, who pays taxes. Obeys the law and oh yeah contributes to the economy. The financial and cultural exchange between national neighbors is important to cementing the peace in any region. Even this one. By allowing an easier commerce and exchange between us and Mexico we may actually improve conditions in Mexico there by making the issue also less important.
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