Following a long-standing tradition (since July) of not supporting particular primary candidates, The View has instead identified several key issues which are expected to play an important role in the presidential campaign, once we stop worrying about who cried and why. The topic for today is illegal immigration.
First and foremost it must be understood that we are a nation made up of immigrants and their descendants, differing only with respect to the date of the first arrival. If it makes you feel better to have descended from early arrivals, good for you. The U.S. continues to admit an estimated one million legal immigrants a year. Concern over today's immigration issues should not be dismissed as bigotry or Xenophobia.
Today, we have somewhere between 12 million and 20 million people living in the United States in violation of existing immigration law. The fact that we don't have an actual number is testimony to the scope of the problem. In addition, this number increases by an estimated 500 thousand per year. While many of these have illegally crossed our borders, others come here legally, such as students, but then overstay their permitted residency.
The first point, then, is the extent to which the new president will enforce those immigration laws already on the books. Some would like to see our borders completely sealed, perhaps physically. While this may or may not be possible, there is ample room for improvement in our current efforts. Recognizing the problem and allocating adequate resources would be a good start. This would include a stepped up monitoring of those entering the country on temporary visas to ensure that they continue to follow the law once their allowable residency is finished.
The key to dealing with the vast number of illegal aliens now living in the US is through the employment venue. The key attraction to illegals is the opportunity for jobs. Requiring employers to hire only legal residents is a start, but systems must be developed to allow easy identification of those with legal status. This issue is fraught with civil liberties concerns, but it must be addressed. Such a system could also be used to keep track of temporary workers such as those in the agricultural industry. Broadly issued amnesty programs which would reward illegal activity with citizenship would send the wrong signal to the millions around the globe that would like to live here.
These are but two parts of a broader problem that badly needs addressing. No country can long endure if it cannot control its borders, especially given the current terrorist threat. It also impacts on our ability to deal with the needs of our citizens in such areas as health care and education. If we struggle with the wisdom, and costs, of various social programs, the considerations become even more complicated when we posit coverage for the “undocumented.” This problem is not easily resolved but it is one that demands to be addressed. While presidential candidates might not be able to present a full comprehensive solution, they should at least commit to developing one.
***********************************************************
With all the "excitement" surrounding today's Michigan primary, don't forget the registration deadline for our own Massachusetts primary, just 21 days from now. In order to vote on February 5th, you will need to be registered by tomorrow, January 16th.
In the meantime, here are a few things to keep in mind with regard to the big showdown in Michigan. First of all, the only major democrat candidate running is Hillary Clinton, so, presumably, she should be able to tout some good results. At the same time, the Michigan party registration rules, or lack thereof, allow voters to opt for either party's ballot at the polls. This means, of course, that democratic voters who might be frustrated by a lack of choice, might opt for a republican ballot in an effort to distort the opposition's results. It should be a lot of fun watching the pundits trying to make some sense out of this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment