A Solution to the Illegal Immigration Problem

I have been studying this problem with illegal immigration at our borders for many decades. I have heard many proposals from both Democratic and Republican administrations over the years and none have gotten far enough along to be made into a bill or a law. I also hear about a comprehensive reform that is under discussion. Again it never see the light of day, only during an election year is it ever mentioned and quickly forgotten.

I decided to try a different approach.

- April 2020

Instead of citing statistics and data, I will just ignore all of them. People in general are not going to evaluate them objectively. Thy will cite sources that they agree with as gospel while opposing sources as biased or suspicious. Therefore, I have decided on a different approach.

My proposal is radical. Before I present it, I want to first layout my objectives. After hearing what my objectives are, perhaps you will be more open to my suggested solution.

Objective One - I want to solve this growing problem. Some may not agree with me that it is even a problem. That is OK. I would still want to make that my first objective.

Objective Two - I want to eliminate the status of an undocumented immigrant. We should have only three classes of people living in our country. A citizen, natural born or naturalized. A permanent resident with green card. Finally, a visitor with a valid visa.

Objective Three - I want to eliminate deportations of illegal immigrants once and for all and only deport people who had committed serious felonies.

Objective Four - I want to stop the illegal entry going forward, if not 100% but at least 95%. Every new immigrant should come here through legal channels. We can make the legal immigration path more easier and streamline and faster so that there would be less likely the incentive to cross our border illegally. The only exception are refugees which will be dealt with differently. This is purely a humanitarian action and should be separated from immigration.

The Plan is in Three Stages. It will happen only if each stage is implemented as designed and objective met.

Stage I - We beef up our border security by any means including a fence where it makes sense, or electronic surveillance or drones or technological solutions. It's target is to stop border crossings by 95% of current levels.

Stage II - Once we have verification that Stage I is successful, we will announce an Amnesty program to all existing people here in the US who do not have legal status. This is sweeping and will cover all DACA and every illegal immigrant or undocumented immigrant or people with false documents. Including people with criminal records.

Stage III - Once that happens or at least 95% of those signed up to the amnesty program, the last stage will reform existing immigration laws on the books. We will modify the current system to streamline the process and add resources to this federal agencies to speed up the application process, increase quotas, increased H1B1 Visa and add a seasonal guest worker program for farm workers.

Warning:

A final warning to those illegals that are here and who refuse to come forward and out of the shadows. If they are caught, they will be automatically deported to their home country.

For the rest who are given amnesty, consider this a blessing and a chance to start over. You will be given legal status. If you work and pay your taxes, you will be qualified for any and all benefits afford to all other people of our country. You will be subject to follow the same laws. The only difference, if you commit a felony crime, if you are found guilty in a court of law, you will be deported. This is the extra incentive to make sure they will obey our laws and follow the path to citizenship.

After three decades, it is clear to me that our current Congress will never address the illegal immigration issue. It is unfair to the citizens of this country and the illegal immigrants that are here, along with their families. My drastic proposal is the last ditch effort that may have a chance.

It is more than generous. It is in-effect a blanket amnesty program that is even better than what President Reagan offered a generation ago. I welcome comments and critique. What else can we do?