Monday, November 7, 2011
As promised, today I’ll address the issue of immigration reform, a topic that has not only deepened the partisan lines in Congress, but created rifts in each of the ruling parties in our country. Immigration in and of itself is not the issue. Only a handful of extremists have issues with “foreigners” on every level, legal or otherwise. However, the issue of ILLEGAL immigration tends to raise the dander of quite a few otherwise level-headed Americans.
It is important to remember that when discussing immigration, we remember that our nation was founded by immigrants, the offspring of immigrants, and was populated by waves of immigrants from across the globe. Today, the issue facing our nation, an issue that gets little more than lip service, is the growing tide of illegal immigration. Some proposals that permeate our nightly news include the construction of enormous walls, deploy the National Guard, use unmanned drones, or grant blanket amnesty. It IS a problem, but one that has a solution, a common sense solution. The very description of illegal immigration is that it is illegal. In order to stem this growing tide of people that come into our country every day, create animosity amongst our citizens, reap benefits that are stretched thin as it is, and then return to their country of origin (in some cases voluntarily or by force), the US needs to recognize that it cannot stop people from crossing our borders (any border, not just the southern border).
I, personally, have no issue with an individual coming to this country in search of a better life. That’s what makes America great. However, I take offense to those who come to this country, ignore our laws, are exploited by those looking to turn a quick buck, and receive benefits that most citizens don’t get just because of their legal status. I fully support a Guest Worker Program, or perhaps a better term is Temporary Worker Program (TWP). I know that we have a program similar to this in place now, however, it is broken, just like many of our government programs currently in play, and it is one that is not benefitting the nation or the temporary workers.
Wielding the “Magic Crayon of Power”, the most important step in a successful TWP is securing ALL borders of our nation. This has to be done to deter those wishing to circumvent the TWP and current immigration laws. Reaching back to job creation, additional Customs and Border Protection personnel are needed. A bolstering of the US Coast Guard would not hurt this mission either. Security not just for economic purposes, but for actual National Security purposes benefits our nation as a whole. Once the borders are secure (and despite what Janet Napolitano says, they aren’t), the TWP can begin in earnest. I’ll focus STRICTLY on the TEMPORARY workers today. A temporary worker would be defined as a citizen of another country who desires to work in the United States for a period of time not to exceed a designated time. This “designated time” would vary depending on the reason for work. Migrant farm workers may only have a 3-5 month window in which to harvest crops, plant crops, etc. To regulate the number of workers, prospective employers must submit a request through their local government for “x” amount of workers. This prevents a mass influx of persons who will not work and simply disappear into the populous of our nation. Once the number of required workers is established, the US Consulates inform nations that have persons desiring to work in the US under the TWP of the availabilities. The Consulates then compile a list of applications for entry under the TWP and screen for criminal or terrorist elements. Now that a scrubbed list (as scrubbed as possible anyway) the applicants are brought into the US, by US personnel and taken to a regional employment hub. From here, workers are sent to their respective places of employment. While they are here, as guests in our country, they need to be paid a decent wage. Here is where I will upset many Americans, especially the most right-leaning of the citizenry. Two factors come into play with wages. The first is the status of the workers. Are they scheduled to work for an extended period of time (1 year or more) or on a short term basis (6 months or less)? Short term workers, especially those who come unaccompanied by family members would receive a wage slightly under the Federal Minimum Wage (FMW). I say this ONLY because as non-citizens enrolled in the TWP, they would not be required to pay into Social Security, or a full 28% in Federal Income Tax (FIT). They would however be required to pay an adjusted FIT rate which would be set at a considerably lower rate than a citizen pays. Is this fair? I believe it is as a member of the TWP can be expected NOT to draw Social Security or other welfare benefits and therefore should not pay into these systems. A modest flat tax of say 5% (again, not a final number, just simple math) would offset the use of public services and emergency medical care that is a basic human need and not just a right of citizens. This adjusted FIT in conjunction with the National Sales Tax previously mentioned would create revenue for the US while allowing the members of the TWP to legally earn a salary (a better one than they currently earn working for unscrupulous employers who capitalize on their illegal status). Once the employment is complete, the members of the TWP are taken back to a point of departure and sent back to their home nation per the stipulations of the TWP. Longer term employees (1 year or more) are subject to an increased adjusted FIT, but would be paid at a higher wage (at least equal to the FMW) as it can be reasonably assumed that they will use public services more frequently than a short-term employee.
Persons participating in the TWP would NOT be exempt from applying for additional employment as long as employment is available. Persons who have successfully completed a term in the TWP would be given the opportunity for resident alien status, or a path to full citizenship. This allows persons desiring to come to this country to do it legally and become a viable part of our nation. Persons who violate the terms of the TWP or are found to have entered the country illegally would be banned from participation in the TWP in the future.
In a nutshell, we cannot stop all immigration, but by creating practical methods for immigrants to come to our country, even on a temporary basis to work, then it is possible to drastically reduce the number of illegal immigrants that come to this country. By filling jobs that otherwise would remain unfilled or would be filled by illegal immigrants who are paid a meager, unfair wage, it benefits the nation economically, as well as those persons who are seeking a better life. I fully realize that the greed of those who exploit illegal immigrants is an issue that would hamper the process; it can be dealt with by enforcing existing laws and prosecuting offenders. Temporary workers and immigrants are still human beings and should be entitled to earn a decent salary if they follow the laws of our country. I don’t know of too many Americans who are opposed to immigration done legally.
A reduction in illegal immigration, and increase in domestic revenue from adjusted FITs and a NST, and job creation in processing centers and transportation hubs. Three checks in the “win” category for common sense.
