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There are times when a topic becomes so talked about that it becomes labored and boring. This is especially true when it is a problem and so many solutions have been put forth, but nobody acts on them. Blame it on the constitution and the bill of rights laid out therein, like the first amendment rights to free speech and the right to assemble for example. For all the good that they do, just like anything, they always have their down side.
While free speech allows all American citizens to voice our opinions without the fear of litigation or incarceration, it has also allowed those who are not citizens the same right. With the right to assemble, the same bent rule of thumb applies, even if you aren’t a citizen you can take to the streets to protest, peaceably, against whatever is bothering you.
Nowhere has it become more evident then in the recent battles over illegal immigration. As our elected officials seem to be making it the most important topic du jour, when in reality it should be the absurdly high prices for gas and medical insurance, immigration is the topic that gets the most press.
To be honest, this horse has been beat to death. Every time we get what looks like a viable solution to the problem yet another group of undocumented immigrants, who are in this country illegally, take to the streets and the politicians buckle.
In all fairness, it isn’t just the illegal immigrants out there, there are also a good number of their relatives and friends as well. The ones who have either gone through the proper channels or were born here who add the much needed “legal” support. You know, the ones who you generally see talking to the reporters on the scene.
So what has been wrong with some of the solutions that have been thrown out there so far? I guess you would have to have a vested interest in somebody who is in this country illegally to answer that one. Otherwise you, like I do, would wonder what the hold up is on implementing some of the plans that have been proposed. Instead, politicians, who are always afraid of losing their jobs, water down every proposed plan thrown their way every time an immigration group goes “boo”.
This time around it is not one of these special interest groups that are throwing a wrench into the works. In the case of the latest proposal it is the donkeys and the elephants that are battling one another. Well really it is more like the elephants are battling the elephants, because the leading donkeys are already on board with the plan. The donkeys and the elephants that are on board with the plan just need a little help in getting the proposal passed.
It is not as though this proposal is the best they could do, but at least it is a start. The tricky bit is going to be the desire to see the plan enforced, unlike our current immigration laws have been. If they had been, we wouldn’t be talking about this now, that genie has long escaped the bottle. It is now time to re-cork the bottle and start again. This time not just with our eyes to the South, but to all of our borders as well. Our systems are being over taxed and abused by illegal immigrants from many different countries, so to focus in one direction is just foolish and short sighted.
In case you don’t know the basic points of the current proposal, please let me enlighten you. The first step is to hire thousands more agents for the Border Patrol and get the wall along the border with Mexico built. We should also be building one at all of our ports of call, but that is not practical at this point in time, so I guess starting with the biggest leak in the dam will have to suffice.
After progress on that front is made the government would introduce a guest-worker program allowing some immigrants into the country temporarily. That last word “temporarily” has me a bit concerned given the numerous people who have come into this country under “temporary” school and visitation visas and have never left.
The next part is where the pachyderm are really tangling their tusks, this proposal also offers the opportunity to the 12 million + illegal immigrants already in this country the chance to earn legal status. They have to jump through a few hoops first, nothing like the hoops they have been sending this country through, but there are some stipulations.
First, they have to have a job. Next they have to pass a background check, and lastly they have to pay a fine. After those three things are satisfied they can remain in this country with a work visa. If they want to apply for permanent citizenship they have to pay a steeper fine and return to their country of origin in order to begin the process. Oh and most importantly LEARN ENGLISH.
Now somewhere in that last paragraph the dissenters in the elephant pack are seeing the “A” word, namely amnesty. Personally I don’t see it, but they sure do, I view it more of a jumping off point. If it doesn’t work out we draft another proposal and start again until we get something that does work.
There is no amnesty involved here if they are made to follow the rules and we have the fortitude to enforce them. Especially when it comes to the learning English portion of the rules. The first places that an “English Only” policy should be adopted is on election ballots, hospitals, and at the DMV. That would definitely kick start that portion of the proposal. Instead of being the continual enablers of the problem, we would be taking action to correct it. Trust me, people would start learning English in a hurry if we didn’t make it so easy to exist here, and we would save a ton of money on printing costs in the process.
So the time has come for all of the petty bickering between our lawmakers to end and implement this proposal to get the ball rolling in the right direction. Heck, even Dubya is ready to sign off on this one, but I would try to add a timetable of five years in there before he does. Despite the fact he is not really keen on the whole timetable thing just remind him that he will be history in a year and a half from now so he does need to worry about it.
Besides I’m worn out hearing about this topic, how about gas prices and medical insurance instead.
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