Thread: A road map to immigration reform

http://www.thestate.com/mld/state/news/ ... 575466.htm

Posted on Sun, May. 14, 2006

A road map to immigration reform

By LINDSEY GRAHAM
Guest columnist

South Carolinians are frustrated with our immigration system. They know the system is broken and we all pay the price.

It’s a concern I share, along with President Bush, whom I recently met with at the White House to discuss this issue. As a former border-state governor, he clearly understands the seriousness of the immigration problem facing our nation and the need to comprehensively address the problem.

So how do we get a handle on a situation currently out of control?

• First, we must secure our borders.

During the past decade, the number of people illegally crossing the border has dramatically increased. Without better border security, any congressional immigration reform is going to fail.

Under the Senate immigration compromise I support, we will authorize the hiring of 12,000 new Border Patrol agents over the next five years. We also create fences and walls in certain high-traffic areas to prevent illegal crossing. In other areas, we create a “virtual” fence that relies on cameras, motion detectors and other technological devices.

I authored a provision, accepted in committee, that gets more individuals with military backgrounds into the Border Patrol. Due to modernization, in the coming years we’re expected to have a reduced number of people serving in some areas of the military. These veterans, with years of military experience and training, are excellent candidates to serve in our expanded Border Patrol.

• Second, increase employer enforcement and verification of legal workers.

Comprehensive immigration reform should simplify our laws to solve the problems facing employers. In the compromise, we establish an efficient worker verification system that lets employers know if the person standing before them can legally work in the United States.

Particularly important is preventing the rampant fraud in our current system, in which Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses are fraudulently procured. Replacing that system with a tamper-proof verification card containing fingerprints and other identifying data of guest workers would be beneficial.

After reforming the system and giving employers the opportunity to comply with new laws, it’s imperative we have the national will to punish employers who intentionally break the law.

We have been too lax in enforcement of our employment laws. With winks and nods, people looked the other way as illegal immigrants filled positions. As a result, the illegal workforce has become firmly entrenched in some of our state’s largest and most important industries, such as agriculture, construction and tourism.

• Third, address the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

We must come up with an honest and rational solution on how to treat those who are already in this country illegally.

Like President Bush, I don’t think we’re physically able to remove 11 million illegal immigrants. We do not have the resources or detention space to do this. Also, an immediate roundup and deportation of this workforce would send our economy into a tailspin. This “solution” is simply not an option.

The Senate compromise brings illegal immigrants already in the United States for more than two years out of the shadows and requires them to meet rigorous standards in order to remain in our country.

In essence, we place them on 11 years of probation. The terms are strict but fair.

They will have to register with the government, be proficient in English, show proof of employment, pay $2,000 in fines, undergo two extensive and comprehensive background checks to ensure they do not have a criminal record or pose a danger to society, pay back taxes and attend a class on American civics.

Failure to meet any of these requirements would result in deportation. Guest-workers must meet very strict criteria over an 11-year period before going to the back of the line to apply for citizenship.

The program isn’t amnesty. Amnesty is what President Carter gave to draft dodgers who fled to Canada.

Our immigration system has been in disarray for so long that there are generations of families with legal and illegal members. Some families have parents here illegally and children who are American citizens. Some husbands are illegal while the wives are legal.

More importantly, there are many military members, particularly young Hispanic Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, who are legal citizens by virtue of being born in America. They have chosen to fight and die for their country. Creating felons out of their parents, if they are illegally in the country, is not going to make America a better place.

The last days of the Senate session before Easter recess represented the best and worst of the U.S. Senate. Our comprehensive immigration reform bill combining border security, employer verification and guest-worker provisions would have garnered near 70 votes on the Senate floor. The substance of the deal held, only to be hijacked by the unfair procedural tactics of Democratic Leader Sen. Harry Reid.

It’s now time for the Senate to get back to work.

Sen. Graham represents South Carolina in the U.S. Senate.

• First, we must secure our borders.

(can't have those pesky MinuteMen messin' with the flow of traffic)

• Second, increase employer enforcement and verification of legal workers.

(every employer should make sure they're illegal before they hire them.)

• Third, address the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

(Hello illegal immigrants, welcome to America!)

Nice speech coming from one of the most ardent supporters of illegal aliens and their rights at the expense of US citizens. What the good Senator doesn't mention is the woefully underfunded, undermanned, corrupt and inefficient DHS which will administer and enforce the provisions of this wonderful amnesty sham. They weren't and still are unable to handle the backlog from the 1986 amnesty disaster that was allowed to fester resulting in the quagmire that we are now in. The government's insulation from life outside the DC fishbowl is the reason we face the enormous problems that pose a threat to our country and our way of life.

Like President Bush, I don’t think we’re physically able to remove 11 million illegal immigrants.

I do. Dry up their resources. They won't want to stay.