Characterizing the Pro-Illegals

The so-called Pro-Illegals advocate secure borders, sanctioning employers, comprehensive immigration reform, and a path to citizenship for the 12-20 million. They maintain that most of these illegals have worked and contributed to this country for +5 – 20 years. Of course, no one knows the actual distribution of these aliens by the length of their stay in this country.

By favoring the illegals and their countries of origin, the Pro-Illegals exhibit what many would consider a basic disloyalty to their fellow citizens and to the national interest. One can be in favor of a solution to the immigration conundrum without taking the part of foreigner or thier governments. When seeking a compromise in the national interest, who should have the longer road to travel, the illegals or U.S. citizens? This is the key question. Once it is answered, the way forward will become apparent, compromise will be easier, America will be preserved, and the demonstrated labor needs of employers will be met.

However, the Pro-Illegals fail to recognize that securing the borders means more than just physical barriers, roads and electronic and aerial surveillance. One cannot expect these measures to succeed by themselves without the creation of significant disincentives for prospecctive new violators of the borders. This means sanctioning the illegals themselves, their employers and those who aid and abet them or who offer sanctuary. Buttressing the physical barriers with important disincentives will improve our chances of success. Any other provisions of immigration reform must be held in abeyance until there are concrete results from the border measured not in terms of the completion of the infrastructure but in terms of a reduction in the illegal population and a reduction in the number of illegals being apprehended at the border.

The disincentives can be created with viforous interior enforcement including: (1) daily roundups, (2) more immigration judges to expedite the deportation appeal process, (3) quick involuntary deportation. Self-deportation will not longer be allowed because that avoids the onus of a removal order followed by a felon classification for those who return.

The bases for appeal could include: (1) testimonials from fellow workers not of their ethnicity, (2) evidence of social integration and cultural and linguistic assimilation, (3) children in school over the age of eight, (4) input from local unions, and (5) evidence of attendance at a community-based ESL course.