Immigration Reform

An editorial in the Washington Post characterized the new immigration reform proposals as sensible and workable. How soon we forget! I have dealt with the amnesty issue in an earlier post. Below I expose the other ommissions and deficiencies of the current proposals.

A provision is needed in the reform proposals that mandates English as the official language of the U.S. to be used for all official publications, proceedings, and documents at all levels of government. Public Interpreters should be authorized for those who cannot afford one or who do not have a family member who can fulfill this role.

True fluency in English must be required for citizenship. The bill should provide funding for teaching English and testing for fluency.

Carefully constructed language needs to be inserted to reinterpret the 14th amendment in the light of the current unanticipated state of affairs regarding illegal aliens, tourists, and students who abuse the law by producing birthright citizens for the purposes of gaining government benefits for their children and
laying the groundwork for subsequent chain immigrations.

Chain immigrations should be limited to the children and spouses of U.S. citizens. The U.S. should not obligate itself to expedite immigration for any other adult relatives of a citizen. They must get in the same line as those without a citizen relative. All chain immigrations must be counted against the overall immigration quota.

Total immigration should not exceed 250,000 per year, exclusive of students, tourists, and temporary migrant farm workers, and should be focused on those who have the greatest potential for increasing the competitiveness of the U.S. in the global economy. Immigration should be tied to the unemployment rate by sector. If the total unemployment rate in any given sector is greater than a specifired level, immigration in that sector should be suspended. The bill should establish a stable population as a national goal to be achieved within 20 years based on tax and immigration reforms.