Border Security-Immigration Redesign
"… They will bring with them the principles of the government they leave."
Thomas Jefferson
"To admit foreigners indiscriminately to
the rights of citizens, the moment they put foot in our country would
be nothing less than to admit the Grecian horse into the citadel of our
liberty and sovereignty."- Alexander Hamilton
In 1790, the Congress established a formal process enabling the foreign
born to become U.S. citizens. Just over a century later, "the federal
government assumed" the task of reviewing and processing all immigrants
seeking admission to our United States that they may experience the
"American Dream," and it has been downhill ever since. Following
we will explore big bold solutions for a complete redesign
of this vitally important issue, beginning with getting Washington D.C.
and the "hypocrisy of the two party system" out of the way!
Why did immigration reform fail? Several reasons come to mind;
- Whenever we hear the term "comprehensive" many of us
understand that it will have nothing to do with dealing with the actual
problem, and will ALWAYS have a hidden political agenda, and it did.
- Many of us remember the Simpson-Mazzoli Amnesty bill in 1986, and the "broken promises"
of Congress to secure our border, which was to be a condition of the
bills’ passage, along with selling it to the American public. When then
President Ronald Reagan signed the bill his one concern was that
Congress would not keep its promise to the American public, and indeed
(of course what’s new) they did not.
- The latest bill was
yet another amnesty. Plain and simple truth. Up to and including the
notorious MS-13 gang members here illegally.
- Most of us
recognized that BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE were vying for a large "voter
bloc" from the primarily (but not all) Hispanic community. We are also
baffled by those who seem to care not about the "human trafficking"
issue. Where are all the alleged humanitarians?
- Most of us
understood the outrage on behalf of "legal immigrants" who have jumped
through the incredible hoops and endless years of "government
bureaucracy" to become "assimilated and patriotic Americans."
- Most
Americans understand that we already have good laws in place that are
simply NOT being enforced. Here again because of politicians and
"political correctness" run amok. (See some of these laws at the end.)
- The
anger of the American public was further fueled by the accusation of
bigotry simply because we believe that we are a "nation of laws." The
"bigotry card" is wearing thin on the American public. This type of
behavior did not help the cause whatsoever toward any type of reform,
which most Americans will agree that we need. We are a good and noble nation which from the birth of our Republic has welcomed all! Therefore
the slanderous behavior in street protests and by far left wing
entities simply put, "they shot themselves in the foot."
The
following will not endear us to some on both sides of this issue, but
there are some cold hard truths we as a nation as well as amnesty
proponents need to HONESTLY look at and take some personal
responsibility for. First let’s be clear this is a NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE.
All of our borders are dangerously porous! The fact is there really are
jobs many Americans REFUSE to do, somehow believing it is beneath them.
When is the last time you have heard about a teenager asking for a
dishwasher job, or asking to be hired to pick some fruits and
vegetables? Good luck, our young people are spoiled. If parents would
insist they find these types of jobs, after one summertime, they will
think twice about the importance of a good education. We also have
spoken with many contractors who have shared (2) important facts with
us as well as people we know that have witnessed this first hand. 1.) Many
smaller contractors pay very well, but because they do not pay
outrageous Union wages many Caucasians will not work for them. These
are small businesses that have much smaller profit margins than the
major companies do. 2.) A fact we have also heard,
the overall "work ethic" is better from foreign born workers. One
company said he has had several of his Hispanic workers with him for
years, ALL of which are here legally and he pays well. He expressed
that whenever he has hired any white workers, they call out sick
regularly, take constant unnecessary breaks and even some whom come
back drunk from their lunches. We have heard these same stories from
many small contractors and indeed how many of us have had our own bad
experiences with one delay after another with our own small contracting
needs. So let’s be fair, our own American work ethic has slipped, and
we need to get back on track, although there are numerous reasons for
this slippage, one of the main ones are Unions!
Below are very doable solutions, but the "first step" must be
admitting our own part. We as a nation have not held our elected
representatives and all of Washington accountable for this "out of
control" National Security issue. What we have allowed to happen is DANGEROUS!
We should not be concerned with peoples who want to come to our country
to work hard, pay taxes, and OBEY OUR LAWS, under those circumstances
we should be delighted, as historically immigrants have been an
enormous pool of talent, energy, and some of our greatest innovators.
However we have had a terrible breakdown in controlling our borders and
insisting on assimilation out of "political correctness" fear, THIS MUST END!!
Our "Big Bold" Solutions
- No Amnesty- We are a "Sovereign Nation"
and we are a nation of LAWS! As said in my own bio, I broke the law and
had to pay a debt to society and continue on a path of becoming a good
productive member of society again. It is simply wrong to reward law
breaking. End of argument!
- Secure ALL of our borders-
It is just not our Southern border that lacks in security but, our
east, west and Northern borders as well. We never actually hear about
how many are coming into Florida (as an example) from other countries
via island hopping from the Caribbean. How to REALLY begin securing our
Republic again? A.) Our returning Veterans- These
men and women who have sacrificed so much should be able to return home
to good paying secure jobs. Our armed service members are the best
trained and educated in our history. We would be able to station our
Vets at our ports and our Northern and Southern borders. B.) 21st. Century Technology-
We already are utilizing some of the technology available to us, but
not nearly enough. We should have far more X-ray scanning machines for
container shipments at our ports of entry. We should also develop
highly sensitive deep underground sensors at our Southern border. Some
may say the outrageous amount we are spending on a fence will do the
trick. But "where there is a will, there is always a way," and we have
no idea how many ‘underground tunnels’ actually exist. This should also
be done on our Northern border as well, however only when the main
issue of the Southern border is completed. TERRORISTS do not care where
they can find a way in. We are a sovereign nation and it’s high time we acted like it!
- Both sides of this debate need to sit down as adults utilizing the process of ‘critical thinking’ and
get ‘political ideology’ out of the way! We need to address the issue
of good, fair immigration redesign understanding that we need to "eat
one bite of this huge elephant at a time" not the entire elephant. Get
the "comprehensive" idea out of the way and we will be able to do this.
- Enforce the laws already on the books- if
one reads a February 2006 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report we
have many good laws on the books, they simply do not get enforced. Some
do need a total do-over however. Such as the ‘unlimited amount of
family members’ that are allowed easier access. (This is something the amnesty crowd politicians really wanted in order to form a powerful voting bloc.) We will include some excerpts from CBO later on.
- Entrance illegally into our nation should be a FEDERAL FELONY-
Currently it is a mere slap on the wrist "civil" issue, which
encourages repeat offending. Make entering without our permission a
federal felony with automatic forced deportation along with NO
opportunity for American citizenship ever.
- No more "anchor babies"- This
law has got to go! If for no other reason than those of humanitarian
ones. It is dangerous for a pregnant woman literally about to give
birth to cross our borders. Not too mention this is just another way to
skirt our laws, along with the fact that we the tax payer foot the
emergency room fees. No hospital or doctor allows an American woman to
give birth for free! (Unless they are on some type of government assistance.)
- No more "student" or "work" visas issued from "terrorist-sponsoring" nations.
Again National Security is at risk here. How soon we have seemingly
forgotten 9-11. In the real terror threat world we live in it is just
too bad if we insult these countries.
- No Federal Dollars for "Sanctuary Cities."- While
the argument that "sanctuary cities" help bring illegal aliens out of
the shadows to report crime is understandable, this can be accomplished
without this policy as it is in many of our cities currently. The fact
is we do have people here illegally and they should feel safe (until we
resolve immigration redesign) to report crimes against themselves or
others.
- Work with the Mexican Government- This is
absolutely vital toward our efforts of reform. President Calderon is
making a real effort to clean up his country. And it is NOT un-American
to say that the U.S. is a big problem in its huge illegal drug
appetite. We must accept this and begin a dialogue of REAL DOABLE
solutions. The U.S. "War on Drugs" approach is simply not working!
(More discussion under criminal justice reform.) Our country is doing a
lot of "feeling stuffing" in one form or another and with regard to
drugs we must admit our part in some of what ails Mexico. One can
hardly blame some of its citizens fleeing the violence there and coming
here. We can put up all the walls and fences, but nothing will change
until drug abuse in our own country is dealt with!
- We should have a visa worker program-
however, in order to join a visa "worker program" workers should have
to apply from their country of origin and have verifiable proof of an
employer who requires their skills. (A law actually on our books, not
enforced!)
- Companies which hire foreign born workers-
should have their feet held to the fire. These companies should be
required to assist those employees here LEGALLY to "learn to be
American." During our first big immigration wave, companies like FORD
did this. If immigrants coming here are unhappy with our American
culture, language, rich history and ways and have no desires to
assimilate then don’t come here asking us for work and our American
dollars! It is high time "political correctness" stopped! We could give
tax credits to those businesses which implement a solid learning
program for the above. (We highly suggest a History Channel DVD
entitled "Ellis Island" 2002. This brings us to our next idea.
- A new "Ellis Island" approach (in three U.S. locations)
- We should get the federal government out of the way! Ellis Island
worked for a long time and this approach now coupled with all of our
modern technology can work again. We should strategically locate (3) of
these in California, somewhere on the Eastern seaboard and somewhere in
the Gulf of Mexico, maybe Texas. We should outsource the total
operation to a privately run company. We will discuss later what needs
to be done while these facilities are being constructed.
- Let local law enforcement do their jobs- without fear of "political correctness."
Our law agencies are here to "protect and serve" the citizens of our
communities. If they stop someone for a violation and there is no
provable form of ID or false ID they should be able to check legal
status. (Again, there are laws on the books for this.)
What this would accomplish? - 1.) To
start we would be able to IMMEDIATELY provide job growth in the
construction phase. (With the proviso that this has NO Washington
interference, such as demanding that only UNION workers be hired!)
Private companies know what they are doing, and when completed more
employment opportunities are presented. We would then have companies
such as American Express, Visa, or MasterCard who would be able to have
a "real-time" verification system. These companies could issue "tamper
proof" ID cards and track not only who is coming in but who is NOT
leaving when their visas are expired due to lack of renewal. If they
can keep track of multi millions of our charge cards, we are sure they
would be able to handle this.
While these facilities are being constructed- We
should be working on getting rid of the incredible "back logs" that
exist to enter our country legally. If one is willing to have a
gigantic headache reading the gobbledy-goop that are our immigration
laws, you will find that even they are not sure how back-logged they
are in processing applications. If there is a "loop hole" as to who is
allowed to enter our country it is in these laws. (Is it any wonder we
have no idea how many actual terrorist cells are currently in our
country.) We also would begin asking for bids from private companies to
take over our immigration system with the above mentioned tamper proof
ID cards, with tracking systems and begin the process of catching up
our backlogs.
In closing, our great Republic should welcome all who truly desire
the "American Dream." But along with the privilege of being a citizen
of our country comes certain responsibilities, such as embracing the
"Spirit of our Republic," speaking our language, assimilating and
appreciation for our customs and our laws. And the most important a
true sense of AMERICAN PATRIOTISM.
A Few CBO Facts/Definitions
- The U.S. may deny visas or admission on either a temporary or a permanent basis for the following: health,
criminal history, SECURITY OR TERRORISM concerns, or the likelihood of
their "becoming a public charge." Also for seeking work in the U.S.
without proper labor certifications and qualifications, prior illegal
entry or violations of immigration law, lack of proper documentation,
or previous removal from our country. Obviously these are not enforced very well.
Grounds for removal also include falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to obtain employment or receive a government benefit and
conviction for a crime related to domestic violence, stalking, or child
abuse. (One of our questions should be; why are we housing these types
of criminals at the U.S. taxpayers expense, instead of these offenders
being sent back to be imprisoned in their own countries, or at least
billing said countries?)
- For immigrants to be admitted under the "employment based" preference program- an employer must submit a labor certification request to the Dept. of Labor. The department must then certify that there are not enough U.S. workers available locally to perform the intended work or that the employment of the immigrant worker will not adversely affect wages and working conditions in the U.S.
- According to the United States Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS)
approximately one-third of aliens in the U.S. with "temporary visas"
have violated their time limits, thus rendering those visas invalid.
Other studies however, estimate that the number is far higher of those
who have "overstayed their
welcome."
A FEW DEFINITIONS
Alien- Refers to any individual who is NOT a citizen of the U.S.
Immigrant- refers to an alien lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence; such people may also be referred to as lawful permanent residents or (LPRS)
Nonimmigrant- refers to an alien who seeks
temporary entry to the U.S. for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrants
include tourists, temporary workers, business executives, students, and
diplomats.
Examples of classifications of visas-
Student visa- (F) Visitor- (B) temporary worker- (H)
- A U.S. visa allows the bearer to apply for entry to the U.S.
- A visa does not grant the bearer the right to enter the U.S.
- The Dept. of State is responsible for visa adjudication at U.S.
embassies and consulates outside the U.S. Immigration inspectors with
the Dept. of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Customs and Border
Protection determine admission into the U.S. at a port of entry, as
well as the duration and conditions of stay. Do you think we might have too many government agencies involved?
-FACT- According to USCIS, apprehensions made along the Southwest border between the U.S. and Mexico accounted for over 98% of
all apprehensions made by the Border Patrol. It may not be very
"politically correct" to say but, while no doubt that other entries are
in need of better security, OUR MAJOR problem is indeed our Southern border. No doubt Islamic Jihadists know this too!
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