Tancredo and Sensenbrenner correctly support a strategy that encourages self-deportation of illegal aliens
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Former Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner and Rep. Tom Tancredo have both voiced strong support for making self-deportation part of the strategy to combat the problem of illegal aliens. Both are correct in that support.

Below is a portion of a U.S. News & World Report interview with Rep. Sensenbrenner in June 2006 ( http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/artic ... 19qa_2.htm ):

Do you think it is really possible to deport all the illegal immigrants?

No. However, if we shut off the jobs by enforcing employer sanctions, many of the illegal immigrants will simply decide to go home because they cannot make money in the United States. And you will see an attrition.

The Washington Times reported the following in a May 27, 2006, article ( http://www.republicanmainstreet.org/news052706.htm ):

He says the solution to current illegal aliens is better interior enforcement and sanctions against employers who hire illegals, which would dry up the supply of jobs and force aliens to return home through attrition.

Rep. Sensenbrenner said the following at a May 26, 2006, news conference:

"With the border controls and the enforcement of employer sanctions, the jobs for illegal immigrants will dry up. And if you can’t get a job because employer sanctions are enforced, my belief is is that a lot of the illegal immigrants will simply go back home voluntarily.

So this will end up being a process of attrition. But the only way to do that is through a workable employer sanctions program, fines that are high enough to act as a deterrent, and making sure that we have enough border controls to prevent the illegal immigrant who goes back home from being replaced by another illegal immigrant that comes into the country".

In a number of locations across the country, there are examples of how a policy that encourages self-deportation could be an effective strategy if pursued vigorously. It should only be part of a plan to combat illegal immigration, but it could be an effective part.

I hope that Rep. Tancredo and Rep. Sensenbrenner continue to discuss self-deportation. The examples that are listed below of self-deportation occurring provide a small level of proof of the possible effectiveness of a policy that encourages self-deportation.

Here is a link to a news report that aired on channel 46 in Atlanta, Georgia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxe1WO27B_I . Some illegal aliens are self-deporting in Georgia.

NewsChannel8 in Tulsa, Oklahoma reported on self-deportation in Oklahoma in a story entitled "Hispanics Moving Out Of Oklahoma Before New Law Takes Effect" available online at this link: http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0807/449699.html . Part of the report follows:

Business owner Simon Navarro came to America for a better life. And, he found one on Tulsa's east side.

"I have 11 years here in Tulsa," he says.

But, a tough new state law has much of Tulsa's immigrant population fleeing for fear of deportation.

"Two months ago I heard 25-thousand Hispanics have left Oklahoma," Navarro says.

That is about 30-percent of Oklahoma's Hispanic population.

"They are leaving. A lot have already left."

. . .

It's making it hard for local companies to find workers. But, officials are standing firm. If they are here illegally, it's a one way trip home.

And, the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office is doing its part to move things along. This week, they're training deputies to handle the deportation process. And word is spreading quickly. Simon has already said a lot of goodbyes.

"People are leaving," he says. "They're scared of the sheriff."

Illegal aliens are leaving Arizona by the hundreds because of a new Arizona employer-sanctions that will take effect on January 1, 2008. This law is producing results before it has taken effect.

An article published by The Arizona Republic entitled "Migrants fleeing as hiring law nears" ( http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... ionsimpa... ) reported the following:

Immigration hard-liners say the exodus is a sign the employer-sanctions law is working, even before it becomes official. The law is aimed at shutting off the job magnet by imposing harsh penalties on employers caught knowingly hiring unauthorized workers. Violators face a 10-day suspension of their business license for a first offense and could lose their license for a second offense.

"This is exactly what it is supposed to do. (Illegal immigrants) have no business being here, none," said Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, the main architect of the employer-sanctions law. "Shut off the lights, and the crowd will go home. I hope they will all self-deport."

There has also been some amount of self-deportation in Massachusetts. Here is a link to an article entitled "Worried, frustrated immigrants headed back home to Brazil": http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x1983776459 . The article reported in part the following:

The 51-year-old Brazilian man came with plans to stay here for up to six years to save enough money to buy a house in Brazil, two cars for his daughters and secure a life back home.

But after three years of calling Framingham home, the man has decided to go back to Brazil with only part of his dreams fulfilled mainly because, he said, living as an illegal immigrant doesn't pay off anymore.

"It's not worth it," said the man, who doesn't want to be identified for fear of deportation. "It was good when I first got here, when the money I made here had more value back home. Now it's not worth all the suffering. That's why I'm leaving."

He is not the only one.

Across MetroWest and the Milford area, many Brazilian immigrants are packing their belongings and leaving for good as they grow tired of immigration crackdowns, increasing demands from employers to produce working papers, and the worsening exchange rate between the dollar and Brazil's currency, the real.

For years, illegal immigrants from Brazil have coped with the uncertainty of life here and the threat of deportation because of a favorable exchange rate. When the dollar hit its lowest level in three years this month compared to the Brazilian real, a result of the real's strengthening due to Brazil's export boom, many people decided to take the plane home.