Immigration Reform at Hand?

by Robert J. Romano

May 22nd, 2005

As the national debate over immigration reform unfolds, and as Congress considers proposals from both of the political parties, such as the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, it also must consider two key problems that exist which make enforcing existing immigration laws impractical, and which shall in the future make enforcing any such laws problematic.  The present situation at the borders and points of entry allows thousands of unidentified individuals to enter the country every year and perpetuates a crisis of sovereignty in which the government can never be completely certain of its residents, and no accurate census may ever be taken.  Indeed, the people have every right to expect that the homeland shall be secured, and that more efficient means of managing immigration shall be achieved by setting total population awareness as a priority, or at least as a goal to move towards.  Another problem confronting the enforcement of any immigration laws is a lack in many instances of local cooperation, in which sanctuary laws give illegal immigrants a free pass when it comes to being identified.

                Any reform which does not address the steady stream of illegal traffic that crosses the border, and does not mandate enforcement of immigration law at all levels of the government, however well-intentioned, will ultimately not succeed at achieving total population awareness.  An orderly immigration system shall be one which can control the flow of immigration, and may identify residents regardless of citizenship.  Cooperation between Federal, State, and local authorities is a must, since not only is border security both a Federal and State concern, but so is workplace enforcement and document and identify fraud.

                Instituting a massive guest-worker program nationally is an ideal means of regulating the flow of immigration, and also a means of broadly identifying residents that are already here illegally, and offering them an opportunity to come out of the shadows, as has been articulated in the debate.  However, this very ideal system must be implemented with very practical controls upon all points of entry and move towards the goal of total population awareness.  That priority will never be reached, practically or by design, unless undocumented traffic of illegal aliens is shut down near completely.  Also, fines must be imposed on those immigrants who have traveled here illegally, since there must be a penalty for violating the law of the land.

                It is highly ill advised to implement the guest-worker program without sufficient border controls.  Such a program would initially require a much larger presence on the borders and at all points of entry, which could hold the system intact while it becomes implemented.  This way, as authorities go through all the trouble of identifying the millions of estimated illegal aliens already here, they and the people can be assured that there is not another million on the way.

                The guest-worker program, while an effective way of regulating all legal traffic into America, does not effectively address the problems posed by illegal immigration.  The necessity for a more efficient and transparent means for foreign workers to obtain employment here must be done by creating a secure and legal way for those individuals to travel here, pay taxes, and for employers to be granted the means to hire legally those workers who came here illegally.  No longer will employers be able to exploit cheap labor, precisely because the workers will demand and require higher pay and have the legal means to press their rights in the workplace.  And no longer would human traffickers be able to exploit black market channels into America.  America's chaos at the borders and other points of entry has led to the violation of the rights of workers and immigrants.  Securing the border is a means of protecting not only the American people, but also those who wish to come here safely.  As a matter of policy, we must work with our neighbors in the Americas to bring a stop to the exploitation of the underprivileged. 

                In addition, those who wish that their policies shall match their rhetoric would do well to take into consideration how well many of the proposals offered actually solve the problem.  If local cooperation is not guaranteed under law, and the borders not secured, what assurance do the people have that the law of the land will be enforced? Merely authorizing the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a strategy in which border security is regulated, and in which local cooperation is supposed to be achieved, will not do, and shall not be sufficient.

                Border security and local cooperation are problems which require more than a strategy to be dealt with, and they necessitate that Congress act to make real increases in border security and State and local enforcement of immigration law definite legal requirements to be fulfilled by authorities at all levels of the government.  An effective strategy can only be in accordance with legal mandates that require the government to act instead of leaving it as a political option to be pursued or not pursued.  Supporters of a guest-worker program must be persuaded to answer for the problems of enforcement both at points of entry and in our communities, as advocates for a stronger border shall never support any immigration reform which does not address restoring order to the system.  A compromise ought to include mechanisms and provisions for a stronger border, local and workplace enforcement, and a more manageable guest-worker program.  It is reasonable for the people to demand that any guest-worker program be associated with a stronger border and mandates enforcement of the law of the land.