Don't get me wrong, I am fully in favor of IMMEDIATELY and PERMANENTLY securing our borders (and visa programs) by any means necessary, including walls, fences, etc. However, the current debate about what to do with the illegal immigrants who are already here seems to have become a contest about who has the most draconian plan to deal with them.
First, let us remember that illegal entry into the U.S. is not a felony. (Maybe it should be?) Secondly, many of these people arrived here as children and know no other country to call home. Third, many are members of families that include U.S. citizens. Thus it seems that arbitrary arrest and deportation of these people to some location (?) outside of the U.S. is grossly disproportionate to their "crime," and permanent exclusion from participating in American society is not much better.
Other than rigidly adhering to the principle of "not cutting in line," what is to be gained by this approach? Why not offer TEMPORARY residency (but NO welfare benefits) to those people with close ties to the U.S. who voluntarily register and pass criminal background checks? (Those who fail to register would then be subject to immediate deportation and imprisonment if they return.) Why not then provide, after a suitable period of paying taxes and demonstrated self-sufficiency, a means to apply for permanent residency?
Under such a plan, even the concern about eventually "packing" the voter rolls with new (Democrat) voters will have subsided into much more significant political issues. Does anyone really think that maintaining the status quo on this subject is in our best interests?
First, let us remember that illegal entry into the U.S. is not a felony. (Maybe it should be?) Secondly, many of these people arrived here as children and know no other country to call home. Third, many are members of families that include U.S. citizens. Thus it seems that arbitrary arrest and deportation of these people to some location (?) outside of the U.S. is grossly disproportionate to their "crime," and permanent exclusion from participating in American society is not much better.
Other than rigidly adhering to the principle of "not cutting in line," what is to be gained by this approach? Why not offer TEMPORARY residency (but NO welfare benefits) to those people with close ties to the U.S. who voluntarily register and pass criminal background checks? (Those who fail to register would then be subject to immediate deportation and imprisonment if they return.) Why not then provide, after a suitable period of paying taxes and demonstrated self-sufficiency, a means to apply for permanent residency?
Under such a plan, even the concern about eventually "packing" the voter rolls with new (Democrat) voters will have subsided into much more significant political issues. Does anyone really think that maintaining the status quo on this subject is in our best interests?
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