Vol.1 No. 8 8/1/09 One of the salient issues in America today is the immigration debate. How do we, as Americans, resolve the many issues related to immigration? Is there a way to meet the needs of business, agriculture and tourism, while assuring that Americans have work opportunities? Is there a way to address the approximately 12 million people who live in the shadows, by allowing them an opportunity to gain legal status to work, and maybe even remain in the United States? Is it possible to create laws that respect families and do not destroy families in the process? Is it possible to secure our borders?

These and so many more questions must be answered in a reasonable and humane manner that supports our economy, keeps America safe, establishes a Rule of Law that is honored and workable, and provides a means for America to prosper.

On June 25, 2009, President Obama hosted a meeting with members of Congress to discuss the immigration system that he defined as “broken and needs fixing.” In his remarks after the meeting, President Obama stated that “we need an effective way to recognize and legalize the status of undocumented workers who are here.”

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), the Chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, called for seven principles to form the basis for legislation he intends to introduce in the fall of 2009:

1. Illegal immigration is wrong, and a primary goal of comprehensive immigration reform must be to dramatically curtail future illegal immigration.

2. Operational control of our borders - through significant additional increases in infrastructure, technology, and border personnel - must be achieved within a year of enactment of legislation.

3. A biometric-based employer verification system - with tough enforcement and auditing - is necessary to significantly diminish the job magnet that attracts illegal aliens to the United States, and to provide certainty and simplicity for employers.

4. All illegal aliens present in the United States on the date of enactment of our bill must quickly register their presence with the United States government - and submit to a rigorous process of converting to legal status and earning a path to citizenship - or face imminent deportation.

5. Family reunification is a cornerstone value of our immigration system. By dramatically reducing illegal immigration, we can create more room for both family immigration and employment-based immigration.

6. We must encourage the world’s best and brightest individuals to come to the United States and create the new technologies and businesses that will employ countless American workers, but must discourage businesses from using our immigration laws as a means to obtain temporary and less-expensive foreign labor to replace capable American workers; and finally

7. We must create a system that converts the current flow of unskilled illegal immigrants into the United States into a more manageable and controlled flow of legal immigrants who can be absorbed by our economy.

Sen. Schumer quoted Pastor Joel Hunter when he stated, “our broken system forces good people to break the law because we give people no option to act lawfully.”[1] This statement is profound and underscores the seriousness of the situation. We must work together as a nation to ensure that our Congressional leadership addresses comprehensive immigration reform. To do otherwise is to invite lawlessness and continued strife in America.

The Associated Press reported in a March 15, 2009 article that an official Immigration and Customs Enforcement database showed a U.S. detainee population of 32,000 on the evening of January 25, 2009. The data shows that 18,690 immigrants had no criminal conviction, not even for illegal entry or low-level crimes like trespassing. More than 400 of those with no criminal record had been incarcerated for at least a year. A dozen had been held for three years or more; one man from China had been locked up for more than five years. Nearly 10,000 had been in custody longer than 31 days, the average detention stay ICE cites as evidence of its effective detention management. Detainees include not only terrorism suspects and cop killers, but an honors student who was raised in Orlando, Florida, a convenience store clerk who begged to go back to Canada, and a Pentecostal minister who was forcibly drugged by ICE agents after he was asked to contact his wife, according to court records.[2] There are volumes of data that are self-evident about the need to act - and act now to address this burgeoning issue.

FAIR[3] issued a response to Senator Schumer’s seven-point plan. However, rather than offer solutions, they raise questions:

• What impact would a massive amnesty have on already soaring unemployment?
• How would a repeat of the massive fraud that took place in 1986 be prevented?
• How would adequate background checks be carried out on the estimated 12 to 15 million illegal aliens who would be eligible?
• How many additional relatives, now living outside the U.S., would be eligible for amnesty? How would future illegal immigration be averted when the administration refuses to implement existing systems to prevent employment of illegal aliens?
• How would state and local governments, some, including Sen. Schumer’s home state of New York, already teetering on bankruptcy, pay for services required by newly legalized aliens?
• How are the interests of the U.S. served by adding another 150 million people to our population in the next few decades?[4]

These are important questions to be answered. In any response to a proposal, this author believes that the problems can always be identified; the key is to suggest solutions. Herein lies the real dilemma. How can these and other concerns be resolved? The first step is to make a proposal of principles like those presented by Senator Schumer. Then, all sides must work at specifying resolutions and develop a plan that works for America.