A wholesale solution to the illegal immigrant mess

With illegal immigration still a hot topic, I have to concede that a majority of Americans have been platiituded by progressive Pablum into turning against long-standing immigration law.

Nullification of immigration law is the foundation of Sanctuary Cities.

The majority has come to the false conclusion that there is nothing wrong with illegally taking up residence in this country. There is, but I don’t deny reality. That’s how they feel.

Only 38% of Americans favor deporting all illegal immigrants, according to a Gallup poll last March. I would bet that minority is even smaller now, after the death of two Americans and widespread protests against ICE in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

When so few Americans believe in a law — as was the case with Prohibition — the law should be changed. At the very least, enforcement should be amended, softened.

This brings me back to a subject I have cautiously written about before — always approaching it like a feral cat — offering fair and just solutions to an issue that’s been tearing the nation apart for decades.

First, I propose a five-year statute of limitations for border violations, as we have for other crimes, even felonies.

If the feds don’t get them in that time frame — which could be longer or shorter — they can come forward, make amends, and get legal status, but not citizenship. I  proposed this idea in 2019.

Deny them citizenship? Did I say fair?

Yes, but I also said just.

There are two reasons for denying citizenship to illegals. 

First, there must be punishment for breaking U.S. law. Denying them the vote is simultaneously simple and profound. Easy to police and indelible.

Second, as noncitizens, they don’t get to vote. And if they don’t get to vote, the undocumented don’t become a political football, which they are now. 

This is a statute that can be easily adopted, and since it carries a penalty — denial of citizenship — it is not amnesty.

Before continuing, let me address a few bumper stickers masquerading as thought.
Such as “They [the illegals] are our neighbors.”

Yes, they may be, but “neighborliness” is not a Colgate Gardol shield against law enforcement. Like it or not, “neighbors” include drug dealers, murderers, child molesters, car thieves, arsonists, animal abusers, and drunk drivers.

“No human being is illegal.” Really? Is any human being a “criminal”? You know the answer.

“They contribute to the economy.” So do drug kingpins and thieves, who spend their booty on mansions and luxury cars, jewelry, champagne, boats, night clubs, and ultra expensive restaurants.

”There are no illegals on stolen land.”

Let’s break that down. If you are living on stolen land, and you haven’t returned it, what does that say about you? At least you are a thief. If the land is “stolen,” this argument suggests there are no borders. So that phrase endorses Open Borders, which would be national suicide. Why? I explain here.

With that out of the way, let’s widen the aperture and take in the entire  illegal immigrant mess. 

Back in 2017, I did a five-point solution for the Philadelphia Inquirer, but since it is behind a paywall, here are the five points:

1. Seal our southern border with a barrier that can be a physical wall where necessary, but can include fencing, Border Patrol agents, cameras, motion detectors, drones, Komodo dragons if necessary. [This has been done by President Donald J. Trump since I wrote.]

2. Since jobs are a magnet, lock up employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers. Not just a fine, which can be written off as a business exoense. Send CEOs to jail for a year and jobs will dry up like peas in a rotisserie. No jobs, no magnet.

2a. With cheap, plentiful labor gone, wages for Americans will rise. Simple supply and demand.

3. Implement a statute of limitations for those here at least five years who have a clean record. That was explained above.

4. Allow people protected by that statute to come forward, be documented, and become legal residents. They pay whatever fines, taxes, and penalties owed. They submit to fingerprinting and biometrics to establish their identity. This was the essence of a 2013 proposal by President Barack Obama. (See graphic at top of column.) I disagree with Obama’s “earned” path to citizenship.

5. While I bar citizenship as punishment for breaking our laws, minor children they brought to this country with them would be eligible for citizenship, and children born here, of course, are citizens.

This is not  amnesty. It has penalties, but keeps families together while disrupting the avenues for illegal immigration.

To me, it seems just, humane, and fair.

It resolves the immigrant mess — as long as we continue to control our borders.