Group's moxie knows no limits
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Editorial

A Freehold immigrants rights group's list of what should be included in any immigration reform bill has us wondering: Are they serious?

Among the "principles" suggested by members of Casa Freehold at a forum Sunday: unconditional amnesty and immediate legalization, an end to raids and deportation, and union benefits and workers' compensation for foreign workers that are equal to what citizens receive. We're surprised they didn't also demand a free McMansion, plasma TV and SUV for every illegal family.

What an absurd sense of entitlement.

They want to give a free pass and extend more benefits to people who broke the law to get here. That would give the green light to millions more to forgo green cards and worker visas, knowing that once they get two feet over the border, they are free to start making demands.

Illegal immigration is a serious problem. Unconditionally forgiving every person who broke the law getting into this country and loosening border security are not among the answers. Neither is any immigration bill that doesn't provide for secure borders, impose stiff penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants, mandate the issuance of tamper-proof national identification cards and empower local police to enforce immigration laws.

An effective immigration reform bill must end the practice of granting automatic citizenship to children born here of non-citizen parents, make it illegal for states to issue driver's licenses to people who are unable to prove they have legal status, refuse school enrollment of children whose parents can't prove legal status and withhold social services other than emergency medical care from anyone not in this country legally.

Illegal immigrants should be allowed to return home and apply for readmission as guest workers, and a limited number of guest workers with a multi-year path to citizenship should be authorized.

The economic stress placed on our hospitals, social services and school districts because of unchecked illegal immigration is well-documented. What other country would stand by while swarms of people entered the country illegally, then held marches, demonstrations and press conferences demanding their rights? And held forums insisting that the laws on the books governing illegal immigration be ignored?

Turning a blind eye to the problem, as our federal government has done for years, only encourages such arrogance. It's time to put an end to it.