This is my first post here, take it easy on me fellas, I kinda feel like I'm throwing myself to the wolves.
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Fellow citizens,

Immigration, legal and illegal, is the issue I will try and address here. I am a US citizen by birth, I feel the need to make that statement as my name makes for a quick detour from reading this for most people. Our great country has been divided by the issues involved with immigration, illegal immigration to be specific.

It is apparent to anyone whom reads the newspapers or follows the current news that our existing laws are NOT working. There are an estimated 8-20 MILLION illegal aliens amongst us. I use the word "alien" because that is what our government refers to them as, when immigrants go through the proper channels they are referred to as "Permanent Resident Aliens" until they are naturalized.

There are bills presently in the house which seem to be complete opposites of each other. One aims at criminalizing the 8-20 million illegal aliens that currently reside in our country and hunting them down as if it were some sort of witch hunt and deporting them upon capture. Then putting up a wall a'la Berlin style. The other aims at reuniting families and giving illegal aliens the opportunity to set things right with our country despite having violated our laws from the onset.

I would like to present to you, fellow Americans, a solution to our grave problem. I say lets compromise and have the best of both bills. Let us put up these walls along all of our border territories, it is imperative that we defend our porous borders by any means necessary. Let us hunt down these illegal aliens, arrest, and detain them. BUT ... only after having given them the opportunity to make things right, again.

Let us create a bill that takes all issues into account. Starting with allowing existing illegal aliens to stay (families and jobs depend them). But they can not stay for free! They should be the first to which this program is presented to, and if they are in non-compliance, upon capture, should be detained and deported.

Here is my NEW Residency plan:

To become a US resident alien you would need to apply for residency:
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5-year processing-$4,500
4-year processing-$5,500
3-year processing-$6,500
2-year processing-$7,500
1-year processing-$8,500
6Month Processing-$10,000

For the illegal aliens already here their only option should be:
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6Month Processing-$10,000
A fine of - $2,000.00
and any and all back taxes deemed owed to the US government

After you become a resident alien, the law should state that you should be a resident alien for a period no shorter than 10 years before you are eligible for US citizenship. (AND absolutely NO government assistance)

Once these NEW laws are in place we should :
-Detain illegals on the spot, by police or any state or government official
-Place hefty fines on businesses if they are found guilty of employing illegal aliens
-Begin to incarcerate repeat offenders:
(1st offense - 3 Month INS Detention)
(2nd offense - 12 Month INS Detention)
(3rd offense – Leave it up to a judge)

I believe it is necessary for the US to set up a deportation base as far south Mexico as possible (the most southern tip). Any and all aliens deported should be shipped here FIRST. They should be incarcerated here for as long as a US judge deems necessary. This should deter the illegal aliens whom see the current deportation as a boxing match, upon first capture they return for round two, and if caught again, they go for round three, etc. If we send them to our newly established deportation base in southern Mexico, the trek back across Mexico's rough terrain will not be cheap. This will give them even more incentive to do it the right way.

Funding for this can be acquired from the new residency plan.

Thank you for your time.

Jose Guia
The Colony, Texas
joseguia@yahoo.com