Thread: IDENTIFY IMMIGRATION 'PROBLEM' FIRST

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OTHER VOICES ON IMMIGRATION

Identify immigration 'problem' first

Douglas S. Wood

July 7 2007

The debate over the nation's immigration policy has been marred by misleading appeals to emotion on both sides.

I find one phrase, however, particularly disturbing. Almost all commentators on the subject refer to the need to "prosecute illegal aliens."

The media repeat this inflammatory term without explanation. I have had numerous conversations with a wide variety of people on the subject, and almost without exception they associate "prosecute" and "illegal" with the criminal justice system.

They therefore conclude that any alien who is present in the United States without legal authority to be here (e.g., a visa) is a criminal. That is not the case.

Unauthorized presence in the United States itself is not a crime. Immigration court proceedings to determine whether an alien either has a legal right to be in the United States, or is to be deported, is a civil proceeding, not a criminal one. I find this distinction to be a vital one because a significant percentage of the populace's views on immigration are colored by their belief that the government is allowing criminals (i.e., illegal aliens) to go unpunished.

Another common misconception is that our immigration "problems" stem entirely from "broken borders."

Aliens entering without authorization are certainly a major problem, but approximately 40 percent of the 12,000,000 (latest estimate) aliens currently in the country without valid documentation entered the country legally, but did not depart when they were supposed to.

These aliens entered pursuant to a nonimmigrant visa. Upon entering they received an I-94 which prescribed a date by which they were to depart the United States.

If they do not do so, they become part of the "illegal" alien population. The United States has yet to develop an effective exit tracking system to monitor when such aliens depart.

None of the above is meant to minimize the importance of the immigration issues we face today, but rather to give them some perspective.

Anyone who looks at this issue in a manner based on reason rather than emotion recognizes that the overwhelming majority of aliens in the United States without authorization are here because they can earn a better living than they can in their own country, and they will find a way to come as long as that is the case.

Fences and more Border Patrol agents may make doing so more difficult, but they will not stop the flow of people seeking a better life.

The idea that they will stop a professional terrorist is even more ludicrous.

If I were to propose a solution it would consist of a temporary-worker program that met the needs of the American economy, combined with a counterfeit-proof national ID card that was an absolute pre-requisite to employment in the United States. I recognize the political opposition to a national ID card, but see virtually no hope of an effective immigration solution without one.

As is usually the case, the devil would be in the details, but neither fences and Border Patrol agents, nor complicated bureaucratic procedures and fees, nor some combination of the two are the answer.

Wood is a resident of Williamsburg.
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Psalm 139:14

This guy doesn't know what he is talking about! The problem has been identified by those who live it and see it every day!