Scott Allan’s World

The Senate and the White House have agreed on an Immigration Reform Bill which has been condemned by some as granting amnesty to people who broke the law to enter the country. Will these people not be satisfied until every last one of the 12 million illegal immigrants have been jailed and deported from the country? I ask you seriously how could that possibly be done and what effect would losing 12 million people have on our economy? It does not seem to me that these opponents have any sort of realistic solution. It’s just a lot of meaningless political rhetoric. Branding all of these people as criminals will not solve the real problem which is controlling who enters the country. The real problem is terrorism, not “stealing jobs” which clearly isn’t happening when unemployment is under 5%. We need to find out who is here, give them a way to correct their illegal status, and make sure we close the borders.

What is amnesty then? Let’s look at the proposed law and see what it takes to become a citizen.

• All illegals can apply for a “probationary” Z-visa by supplying full information about themselves. This will allow them to stay and work legally but does not put them on the path to citizenship. I’m sure there are expensive fees attached to this application. If they called the fee a “penalty”, it would probably satisfy some people.
• To start the path to citizenship, one can apply for a “regular” Z-visa. This entails:
  1. The head of the household must return to their home country to file the application.
  2. The family must undergo a criminal background check.
  3. They must pay a $5000 fine.
  4. They must pay back taxes. (It’s not quite clear to me how the government would know how long they have been here and how much income they have made. This seems unenforceable)
  5. They must pay processing fees.
  6. They must go to the end of the line of current legal applicants. No favoritism as some have suggested.
  7. The USCIS will have 8 years to clear up the backlog of those applicants already in line before processing the new Z-visas which could take another 5 years.
  8. Upon receiving a Z-visa, they must wait an additional 5 years to apply for citizenship.
  9. Before any of these provisions can be implemented, there must be a border fence built, 18,000 additional border agents hired, an effective electronic employee verification system enacted. There are other provisions in the bill such as punishing employers for hiring illegals in the future and issuing guest worker visas.

This does not sound like amnesty to me. Amnesty to me means there would be benefits with no consequences at all. Look how expensive it is and how long it takes to become a citizen. They do have to leave the country too in order to apply which apparently satisfies somebody in some way.

This bill is a fair and reasonable alternative to imprisonment and deportation. Look at how we treat criminals in our own country who commit far worse crimes than sneaking across the border to feed their families. Paris Hilton will probably get 2 weeks in jail in a cell secluded from the general population. A shoplifter here in Alabama gets to stand in front of Walmart on a Saturday with a sign that is supposed to shame them. Countless law breakers get simply probation, community service, or ankle bracelets for their crimes. Some just pay fines. And some, including child predators in Vermont, get away with no punishment at all.

It’s easy to sit in our Ivory Tower and tell people they have no right to be here, but if the tables were turned and we had to do something to provide a decent life for our families instead of struggling and starving, we would probably consider sneaking in here too. We practically invited illegals into the country with our open borders and employers willing to give them jobs. To not come up with a humane solution for them is unjust. I consider the Senate compromise to be probation with restitution.

How do I know this is a good solution? Because nobody on either side is happy with it. Oh and by the way, just because I’m not in lock-step with Michelle Malkin, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and others on this issue doesn’t mean I’m not conservative. These people are acting like the Democrats usually do, criticizing and criticizing without providing a pragmatic solution of their own. Is their plan to starve them out by going after their employers and landlords? These illegal immigrants are decent members of our society and most want to be citizens and love the United States of America. No wonder Republicans get a bad reputation with minorities in this country.

I want the borders completely secure, I want to prevent terrorism, and I want an equitable and realistic solution for all the hard working people in question that help drive our economy. To me, that’s very conservative. Remember, we have a big tent. We even let in guys like Giuliani. Make no mistake about it, these people will eventually become citizens because practically there is no other viable solution. It would also be nice if these future citizens and their children eventually voted Republican. But of course many Republicans seem determined to alienate these people instead. Seems very short-sighted to me