J. Brent Olmstead: A guest worker program would reduce illegal immigration

The Idaho Business Coalition for Immigration Reform is a coalition of Idaho businesses and trade associations dedicated to advocating for sensible reform of the U.S. immigration systems. We are small businesses, manufacturers, agri-businesses, farmers and service providers. We are the backbone of the Idaho economy.

America's immigration crisis has gone on for far too long. Its disruptions and distortions are too serious to allow extreme special interests to continue looking for scapegoats and blocking meaningful solutions.

As a coalition we feel that neither amnesty nor mass deportation is the answer. Amnesty unfairly rewards those who broke our laws, and mass deportation is unrealistic. Current enforcement policy is centered on undocumented workers who are contributing to our economy. The enforcement priority should target those engaged in criminal activities.

That is why we support a sensible guest worker program that takes undocumented workers off the black market and legitimizes their economic contributions without providing an expedited pathway towards citizenship status. This type of a program in conjunction with increased enforcement at the border will more readily allow the government to know who is entering our country.

A guest worker program that provides foreign workers with a worker ID removes the incentive for millions of people to illegally enter our country. It adds workers to our tax base, generates revenue for needed social services and it satisfies the need that employers have for a reliable labor pool.

Those who are here illegally and want to stay should be assessed a fine, pay any owed back-taxes and submit to and pass a criminal background check. When all of that is completed the individual should be given a renewable work permit that is valid as long as the individual stays employed.

This approach is much more logical than forcing employers to be the enforcement arm of our nation's immigration policy. Punishing employers for hiring improperly documented workers will not only further damage our economy but will prove to be a deterrent for future economic growth.

States and local jurisdictions have a role to play - maintaining order at the local level. But national security, national economic needs and our national understanding of citizenship require that immigration and citizenship be handled by the federal government. Ultimately, only the federal government can fix what's wrong with the immigration system.

The role of state government in this issue should be one of assisting businesses to find qualified workers to keep the wheels of commerce turning - not looking for ways to punish an employer and stifle economic growth.

We encourage the Idaho legislative leaders to work with the Congress and the president to craft an immigration policy that allows for employers to hire workers who are in our country legally and provides a sensible workable process for immigrants seeking work to not only enter our country legitimately but to also contribute to our society and economy.

J. Brent Olmstead is the state coordinator for Idaho Business Coalition for Immigration Reform.

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