Nothing to Crow about part 2
by
Joseph C. Phillips
There is
little debate that our current immigration policy is in need of reform.
There is even relative agreement that such reform should be comprehensive
or cover all of the policies dysfunctional elements. What is unclear is
why such reform must take the form of one sweeping piece of legislation
that attempts to solve every problem at once.
The first chapters of the book of Genesis in the Old
Testament serve as a reminder that in everything there is a process. Though the
Almighty Himself was engaged in what could be termed comprehensive reform of the
universe, even he accomplished it in several steps over six days. In fact, it
actually took longer. God rested on the seventh day and then continued working
and has been tinkering ever since.
Immigration reform should be approached in a similar
manner, and must begin with control of our borders and discouraging illegal
immigration by vigorously enforcing current immigration law and punishing
businesses that hire illegal workers. America must be able to control who
crosses our borders, why and for how long they stay.
The comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the
Senate (CIRA) seeks to address the issue of border security by promising an
additional 6,000 border security agents and the building of 300 miles of
security fence. The federal government alas does not have a terrific record
when it comes to actually delivering what was promised. I am still wondering
what happened to the 2,000 border agents that were promised last year in the
appropriations bill? So far the Administration has delivered about 10 percent of
them.
The Senate’s proposed security fence also sends a mixed
message. When the House of Representatives proposed the building of 700 miles
of fence in December, they were promptly accused of being racists and
xenophobes. If now we are being told that fences do indeed make good neighbors
certainly 700 miles of fence is better than 300. And if 700 miles is good,
shouldn’t 1,400 miles be a part of the discussion?
But the heart of the Senate bill is a temporary worker
program, which we are told will address the issue of border control by allowing
for the orderly migration of workers. Oddly enough current immigration policy
already contains something of a guest worker program. There are currently 11
different types of work visas that allow workers to enter this country, work
legally and gain permanent residence status, which leads to citizenship. CIRA
adds yet another visa category—the H-2C visa or temporary guest worker visa,
which would allow American companies to recruit foreign workers and their
families to immigrate to this country for employment. After four years, these
“temporary workers” could apply for legal permanent residence status, which
would be granted to them providing they have learned English or are enrolled in
an English class. Over the next 20 years, this program could bring another 45
million immigrants across our borders. In addition, under CIRA the number of
immigrants allowed into the country under the current employment based visas
would also increase adding another 14 million legal immigrants over the same
period of time. All told CIRA would conservatively allow 66 million
legal immigrants over the next 20
years.
If this figure doesn’t give tax payers cause for concern,
consider that the promise of amnesty, the expansion of social services along
with the government’s continued lack of will to secure our southern border will
bring tens of millions more across our borders illegally.
Talk of comprehensive reform means nothing if the
government doesn’t first demonstrate it has the stomach for doing what is
necessary in order to secure our borders. Americans understand that reform --
no matter how necessary or how comprehensive -- cannot happen overnight.
Effective reform is built over time and on the proper foundation. It is akin to
first seeing that the earth is hot and barren and then proceeding to spit out
the seven seas. The Senate could take a lesson from the Old Testament.
