YES S.I.R.
SYTEMATIC IMMIGRATION REFORM (STEP III)
This is the Third and final part in a series outlining a strategy to address illegal immigration. Please see Step One here and Step II, here.
Now that we have covered both stopping the flow of illegal immigrants and the regularization of those that are here; we can begin to discuss the accommodations for those caught up in the middle, through no fault of their own. I am specifically talking about illegal immigrants that were children brought illegally to the United States by their parents. You must separate the individuals into a two categories.
- Those that are still minors at the time the legislation is passed.
- Those that have resided in the United States since childhood but are now adults.
Documentation must be presented to determine into which category the individual will be placed. This can be easily done with report cards from elementary, middle and high school. If the individual cannot prove that he/she was brought to the United States as a minor he/she will be subject to the previously outlined conditions of the CERIC (Conditional Employment and Residency Identification and Card).
Regardless of Category everyone will be processed per the CERIC requirements to include fingerprints, DNA, and photo identification. They must meet the conditions for the CERIC, i.e. they have no warrants, no felony convictions and other condition previously stipulated. If they fail to meet the requirements they will be processed for deportation.
Category 1- Minor Children would be issued a CERIC. If these individuals graduate high school and have no previous criminal record they will be eligible and may apply for permanent residency at age 21. If they fail to graduate from high school they will continue under the CERIC until age 23 after which time they may apply for permanent residency.
Category 2- If the individuals in this category can show proof of graduation from US education through high school, they will have a two-year CERIC requirement and then will be eligible to apply for permanent residency status through existing procedures. Those individuals in this category who did not graduate high school will have a five-year CERIC requirement and would subsequently be eligible to apply for permanent residency.
Other special conditions that should be implemented include the following:
Any person that is eligible for a CERIC and can meet the requirements for military service may enter into the United States Armed Services. Upon honorable completion of a 4-year active duty commitment, those individuals will immediately be eligible to apply for US citizenship.
The last and final step to Immigration reform is to make the hiring of illegal immigrants prohibitively expensive in future years. This would easily be accomplished by implementing one clear, precise and ironclad law for all businesses: If you knowingly or negligently hire an illegal alien, after the implementation of this program, you shall be fined $500,000 per incident. This will make it prohibitively expensive to break the law. No business in their right mind will risk the fine to save $2.00 an hour in labor costs. This will protect the workers from exploitation and prevent future waves of illegal aliens from crossing the border looking for work. If they know that there is a close to zero chance of finding a job because no business will hire them, they will cease to look north as a viable option. Businesses will also benefit; businesses will be on an even playing field and competiveness will increase across many industries in the economy. Because all the new CERIC card holders will be legal, businesses can no longer undercut the competition by using illegal laborers. The net result will be a more reliable work force and safer working conditions for all workers. This will all happen in the marketplace, on its own. This can only be looked upon as a net positive.
In order to facilitate the verification of workers, an E-Verify type system would be set up with the information from the CERIC. Upon entry of the CERIC number the system would show the employer a photo of the owner of that number/card along with a physical description. The employer could then be assured that the individual was in fact legally eligible to work in the United States. And, absolve him of legal repercussions should fraud be subsequently discovered. This process must be simple and quick along with being inexpensive. There are no technological reasons this cannot be done. The only obstacles to establishing these policies for the employer are and will undoubtedly be political.
The underlying theme to SYSTEMATIC IMMIGRATION REFORM and the CERIC is that it is CONDITIONAL! The conditions are straightforward, fair and achievable. This is not and should not be misconstrued to be a “trap” to catch and deport anyone. It is merely a method by which illegal immigrants can prove what they never tire of telling people: “I am law-abiding and I just came here to work.” They must abide by the law, period. If they break the law, by committing a felony crime, commit a third misdemeanor crime, or a 2nd DUI, they will be processed for deportation. It is not unreasonable to ask that these immigrants follow our laws as a condition for legal status in the United States; and I believe many of them would be happy to accept these terms and end the constant anxiety of being caught and deported.
I believe that this country is the greatest nation ever devised and established by man. I wholeheartedly understand the manic rush of people to come to this great country. They are looking for, what we as Americans sometimes take for granted; the freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness. But, while I may empathize with their motivations, I cannot condone their lack of respect for the rule of law. I firmly believe that a great majority of Americans would be supportive of legislation that would adopt the concepts outlined in this series and would embrace a new wave of LEGAL immigrants, while at the same time forgive and give those who would necessarily be required to register themselves under this program an opportunity to prove that they are, in fact, law abiding and worthy of the chance to become US citizens. The People of the United States have always been and continue to be the most open, understanding, and charitable people in the world; they only ask that the laws, borders and sovereignty of the United States be respected.
This road map is not a complete solution; obviously, many details would have to be worked out. But if the general concepts were adopted and the conditions unambiguously established, it would make political, practical and common sense. Whatever its final version, the key to its success is simplicity; adding another 1000 pages of regulation and bureaucratic red tape to the already dizzyingly complicated immigration statutes would serve no purpose and would only exacerbate the problems we face today.
Finally, I must reiterate that the first and most critical step in this Systematic approach is to SECURE THE BORDER. Much like the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, you can send hundreds of skimmers and emplace hundreds of miles of barriers and booms and build all the sand levies you like, but at the end of the day they still had to stop the leak. Stopping the leak is just the first step. True recovery would have been impossible until the leak was stopped, and there is still a long recovery process forthcoming. In the same way, all the laws and regulations for both immigration and enforcement at all levels of government that are enacted won’t solve the problem if you are unwilling to stop the leak.
I challenge any and all politicians to use this roadmap of ideas as a true guide to once and for all solve the illegal immigration problem in the United States. But it will take intestinal fortitude and daring. Those that are weak of heart need not apply. The only way this problem is going to be solved it to tackle it directly and to ignore the petty political bickering and backbiting. This will take determination and a concerted effort, but it can be cone and it should be done; not only because it will solve or many of the issues associated with illegal immigration, but because it is the right thing to do.
THE TIME IS NOW
2010/07/31Before I start this article and before people begin to rake me over the coals for flawed legal analysis, let me caveat this article by saying that I am NOT a lawyer (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night). I am writing this article on some of my own observations and, dare I say it, common sense and logic. I have read the decision by Judge Bolton as it relates to the Arizona law SB1070. It seems to me that the entire judgment was a travesty to a society founded on law. The federal government’s argument is ridiculous and the judge’s ruling even more so. Part of the judge’s ruling states the following: “Thus, an increase in the number of requests for determinations of immigration status, such as is likely to result from the mandatory requirement that Arizona law enforcement officials and agencies check the immigration status of any person who is arrested, will divert resources from the federal government’s other responsibilities and priorities. “
What could be more of a priority than to ensure the safety of the citizenry and security of the borders? Isn’t this the primary function of government and more specifically the Department of Homeland Security, to include the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)?
But beyond that, it seems to me that if we are to extend the same logic that the judge used in this ruling to all laws that are overseen by the federal government as the basis for a preemption argument we, as a nation, are in big, big trouble. Here is just one example: Arizona state law classifies as illegal, under Title 13 – Criminal Code 13-3552, the commercial sexual exploitation of a minor (excerpt follows).
13-3552. Commercial sexual exploitation of a minor; classification
A. A person commits commercial sexual exploitation of a minor by knowingly:
1. Using, employing, persuading, enticing, inducing or coercing a minor to engage in or assist others to engage in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction or live act depicting such conduct.
2. Using, employing, persuading, enticing, inducing or coercing a minor to expose the genitals or anus or the areola or nipple of the female breast for financial or commercial gain.
3. Permitting a minor under the person’s custody or control to engage in or assist others to engage in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction or live act depicting such conduct.
4. Transporting or financing the transportation of any minor through or across this state with the intent that the minor engage in prostitution, exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction or live act depicting such conduct.
B. Commercial sexual exploitation of a minor is a class 2 felony and if the minor is under fifteen years of age it is punishable pursuant to section 13-705.
AND here is the federal Law:
TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 110 > § 2251
§ 2251. Sexual exploitation of children
(a) Any person who employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any minor to engage in, or who has a minor assist any other person to engage in, or who transports any minor in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, with the intent that such minor engage in, any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct or for the purpose of transmitting a live visual depiction of such conduct, shall be punished as provided under subsection (e), if such person knows or has reason to know that such visual depiction will be transported or transmitted using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or mailed, if that visual depiction was produced or transmitted using materials that have been mailed, shipped, or transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer, or if such visual depiction has actually been transported or transmitted using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or mailed.
They are quite similar. As a matter of fact, the federal law is, essentially, restated in the state statute. Much the same way federal immigration law is restated in AZ SB 1070. Are we to understand that state and local municipalities are prohibited from enforcing child pornography laws because this would pre-empt the federal government as it would divert resources from the Department of Justice’s other responsibilities and priorities? I would hope NOT. I think it is safe to say that most sane people would say that IF there were a sudden rise in child pornography and local jurisdictions began to refer cases to the DOJ for adjudication that they would expect the DOJ to take those cases. Using Judge Bolton’s ruling as a guide it would be possible for the DOJ to claim preemption because they have other responsibilities and priorities and a sudden increase in Child Pornography cases would divert resources. Does that make sense to anyone?
A by-product of the ruling is the idea that a State may not enact a law to support and supplement federal law. This can and may have far reaching ramifications and unintended consequences in the future. This has the possibility of affecting prosecutions and verdicts in many jurisdictions.
But there are more basic questions. For example: What does it mean when the federal government takes a position against the enforcement of a law that would have the effect of assisting that same federal government in fulfilling its obligation under the United States Constitution in favor of millions of law breakers? How does the federal government justify a position of accepting the status quo rather than accept the help of state, county and municipal jurisdictions indentifying, detaining and arresting people who have violated our countries immigration laws? What has happened to the rule of law?
There is no argument that the federal government has failed and continues to fail in its duty to protect and defend the general welfare of the citizens of this country. No one is denying this fact. What is unbelievable is that the government, while acknowledging its failure to properly enforce the law, continues to erect obstacles to ensure the status quo. The solution to the border problem is not solved by closing park lands and erecting signs south of Phoenix warning citizens that there are drug smugglers in the area, but by immediately increasing forces along the border to keep the smugglers out. The government’s response to Arizona SB1070 is inconceivable, but somehow, not surprising.
How many hospitals must be shut down? How many billions of dollars must we spend on social services, medical care, and schools? How many citizens and legal residents must be assaulted, robbed, raped, and killed before we finally demand that the federal government do its job? We have to ask ourselves, how long are we going to accept the federal government’s dereliction of duty? How long are we going to wait for the petty politics in Washington to catch up to the real world realities along our southern border? There comes a time when states must take a stand for what is right and what is just. There is a time when states must act in the interests of their citizens’ safety and security.
For Arizona, that time is now.
Tags:1070, arizona, border, country, fence, immigration, law, politics, secure the border, states rights, US Constitution, usa
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