Navarrette's First Proposal

Navarrette says, "By way of enforcement -- stiffen penalties against employers with a "three strikes" law (first offense, a warning; second, $10,000 fine; third, 10 days in jail); revise the 1996 Immigration Reform and Control Act by removing the word "knowingly," as in employers only face punishment if they knowingly hire an illegal immigrant; create an identification card; instead of adding more border patrol agents (the agency can't meet hiring goals as it is), give the agents already on the line better tools, including tunnel detection equipment; extend the deployment of the National Guard on the border, now set to expire on July 15; continue workplace raids but, for heaven's sake, arrest an employer every once in a while; and speed up deportations."

He is on the right track here. I would add: mandatory use of E-verification, all deportations classified as involuntary, jail time for repeat offenders and the first time offenders caught in the immediate environs of the border (6 weeks for the first strike, 6 months for the next and 2 years for the third strike, i.e. the third attempted illegal border crossing).