The Blog of toussaint

Every politician knows what needs to be done on immigration policy in this country but it is going to take some heavy political lifting to get it done.  The people who run the rhetoric wars have labeled both sides pretty well.  On one side you have the "mean" , "heartless" Republicans who want to break up families and deny people the American dream.  On the other side you have the "amnesty" crowd who want to " give our country away" and let criminals roam free across our border.  Both of these generalizations are simplistic at best and conniving at worst.  When you get a speeding ticket and have to pay a fine,  I bet you wouldn't say you got amnesty;  but that is they way one side looks at illegals having to pay back taxes and a fine to become part of this new program.  And,  I bet that if someone were crawling through your window (your house's border), you would not think it "mean" to try to stop the intruder.  I find that people like me who work with illegals every day have a more nuanced approach to this problem because we see that most of these people just want to get ahead just like you and me to provide a better life for their families.  When you hear the stories of how they used to "live" down in Mexico, it is hard to blame them for coming here to make in an hour what it used to take them 2 days to make.  But talking to the people who are against the new plan has made me aware of a big problem of perception out there.  There was a time when most immigrants fought tooth and nail to become full citizens of the U.S., even as others tried to keep them out of society.  They taught themselves English and worked hard.  They didn't want to be in the ghettos grouped all together by race.  But now it seems that a lot of people in the latest immigrant population is perfectly happy to not become part of our society.  If they don't have to learn English to find work they don't; they don't come to our churches, our clubs etc. It seems as if they want our money but not us.  A lot of people take that personally.

Now: what to do?  We have to shut down the border first, because as soon as we announce a new plan there will be a flood of people not already in this country trying to get in on this deal.  Then we announce a date by which every illegal has to make himself known or be deported.  This step will take care of your criminals because they aren't going to report; so when law enforcement crosses their path, we can kick them out or preferably lock them up. And, if anyone hires an illegal after that date, we should deport them, too (ha, ha!) Seriously, we should have an automatic jail sentence of one year per illegal person you hire. To insure a good status-check system,  we should revise the social security card to have a picture on it, a magnetic strip, and other counterfeit-proof technology that will make it very expensive to forge.  Right now in Houston, you can go to the flea market and get a social security card for about $50. (Good to know if you are ever on the run, Jesus!)  Of course, everyone in the new deal has to pay back taxes and and fine for breaking the law and go to the end of the line for citizenship behind those who are trying to do it legally.  Most importantly, and I know some will get upset by this one, but everybody needs to learn English.  Without a common language, you can not have a country. We also need to develop a program to enhance Mexico's economic viability so it can employ its population.  People will stay there if they can feed their children.  To fix this mess, it will take 20 years and a whole lot of heavy lifting.