My Take on Immigration Reform: Control, Amnesty, and Lawfulness

Living in a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Chicago, I reflect on illegal immigration on a near-daily basis. While most of the folks on my street are law-abiding citizens, there are no doubt illegals stowed among them, including women like Elvira Arellano, an immigrant who, as of this writing, is receiving national media attention for her defiance of a deportation order and her bold decision to seek well-publicized sanctuary in a church. Ms. Arellano came to the United States illegally a second time after already being deported once. She used a fake social security number to obtain a job, and then had an anchor baby - a son who is now a seven-year-old American citizen. Some folks are beginning to call her the "Rosa Parks of Immigration," a title I personally consider outlandish and absurd. Others just call her a criminal, a label I frankly consider more appropriate. So what do we do with Elvira - and the millions of other people here illegally?

Although I am normally a bleeding heart liberal, I really break with my comrades on the issue of immigration reform. Sure, lots of illegal immigrants work hard and take otherwise undesirable jobs, but many are also an undue drain on our nation's resources. Our schools can't handle the language problems. Our hospitals are overwhelmed by people without insurance (shouldn't we make sure all our citizens get health insurance first?). Our outdated infrastructure buckles under the extra weight of people who made a conscious decision to come here when they know they are illegal.

My position is one of control and containment - followed by a very reluctant yet pragmatic amnesty - followed by a reign of strict lawfulness. I suppose that, to some, my take on immigration reform will seem harsh and that, to others, it will not seem harsh enough. I believe in law and order, but I also believe in practicality.

I realize this borders on oversimplification, but for the purpose of clarity, I outline three main steps:

1. Immigration Reform: Control and Containment

We need to secure our borders and stop the influx of illegal immigrants. We all know that the vast majority of illegals are either Mexicans or other Latinos entering via our porous border with Mexico. The first step in stopping any leak is identifying the source and patching it up. If you had a leaky pipe under your sink that was flooding water onto the floor, you'd need to shut the water off or otherwise patch the hole before you'd start cleaning up the mess, right? Call me reductionist, but I see the border enforcement problem like a very bad, very expensive leak in desperate need of repair.

Admittedly, I don't like the idea of building gigantic fences, but I am slowly coming around to it. Considering that we are one of the world's superpowers, it's amazing to me that we can't even control our southern border to prevent streams of illegals from crossing. Perhaps we could take some of the money and manpower we have tied up in our imperialistic and wasteful Iraq war and redirect it to this critical domestic issue? Use more technology, including surveillance cameras and aircraft. Let volunteers do behind the scenes work. Build fences in high traffic areas. Hire more border patrol agents (we have a lot of unemployed citizens who we're supporting anyway, you know, so why not put them to work?). Send even more National Guard troops to provide assistance. In short, develop a comprehensive plan to stop the influx.

Note: We have an obligation to treat illegal border crossers humanely, of course. We should never shoot or beat anyone, but we do have the right to arrest them and send them home.

2. Immigration Reform: Amnesty by Practicality

Only after we stop the steady stream of illegal immigrants can we begin to address the millions of people who are already here. Many folks are opposed to amnesty on principle, but I ask: what else can we do? It's feasible to seal up our borders to prevent more people from coming, but it's nearly impossible to identify and uproot people who've dug into our country so deeply, lived here for years, and had anchor babies who are now American citizens. The logistics of mass deportation are unfathomable, and the result is undesirable: we'd suddenly have a massive void in our society and in our workforce. Even though these people are here illegally, most of them do work and we can't simply remove them to solve the immigration problem. Furthermore, our companies and private citizens who have hired illegals are partly to blame for the influx. Illegal immigrants have arrived knowing that they can find work, and in some cases, greedy American companies looking for low-cost labor have actively recruited poor people from Mexico and other Latin American countries knowing that these migrants would be coming illegally. We've sent mixed messages: "it's technically illegal....but we'll turn a blind eye if you work for us."

Once we've prevented new illegals from crossing into the United States, we should offer a citizenship path to the people who are already here illegally, albeit with a resigned tone. We ask the people who are here illegally to come out of the shadows without fear of retribution. We say, "you shouldn't have come here, but we shouldn't have made it so damn feasible. Now that you're in the US and working, we're going to help you become American citizens." We find some way to process these people and offer them legitimacy - a green card which leads to citizenship. We teach them English. We begin to address issues like education, health care, and social services once we have a firm grip on who is actually here and once everyone can be accounted for. We take a detailed census and finally get a more accurate picture of the United States population.

I'd also support the notion of an extra tax on the income of illegals-turned-legals to help pay for some of this "transition to citizenship" program. Of course, it would be in addition to the usual federal and state income taxes and would have to be small, so as not to be debilitating and poverty-inciting. Maybe an extra 1 or 2% of income? When someone becomes a full US citizen rather than just a legal resident, the special tax can be eliminated. Call it a practical penance.

In short, I include amnesty in my view of immigration reform less because I believe it's "the right thing to do" and more because I think it's the only realistic and socially beneficial way of handling the millions living in the shadows.

3. Immigration Reform: Lawfulness and Sustained Enforcement

By this point, we've ensured (at least in theory) that everyone here is either an American citizen or on their way to becoming one. Everyone should be documented and accounted for. The final step is enforcing the new setup, which includes very strict and aggressively applied laws against the employment of undocumented workers. Between the existing bank of unemployed citizens and the robust population of former illegals now legally working toward citizenship, employers should never have to hire someone on the down low. Rich people can still get their maids. Farmers can still find people to harvest fruits and vegetables. Factories can keep their assembly lines staffed. The only difference is that these employers will face extremely stiff penalties if they hire anyone illegally.

Similarly, if immigrants are found without documentation, we deport them. After all, they would have had a period of time to take advantage of amnesty and become legal citizens, fully participating in our country by giving to and taking from the collective pot of production and services.

Final Thoughts on Immigration Reform

I realize that the plan I have described above is far from perfect and is not comprehensive or exhaustive, but at least I am acknowledging the undue, unfair strain illegal immigrants place on our society and am seeking a realistic action plan for this mess. We need to treat the illegals in out midst with respect and recognize our own complicity in the immigrant crisis while at the same time preventing a further deterioration of our social infrastructure.

Feel free to leave comments on this article, or join AC to share your opinion on illegal immigration and immigration reform.