Crisis of conscience
Guys, I find myself agreeing with Bill O'Reilly on something, and this worries me. What's your take?
I just saw his segment on the failure of the immigration bill - that bloated, vindictive 800-page mess. He proposed a 4-point plan for dealing with the illegal immigration problem, and it actually struck me as largely reasonable, despite some qualms about the implementation. You can probably watch the video at the foxnews website, but basically it boiled down to this:
1) Build a 700mile border fence and patrol it with increased border patrol (with National Guard if necessary) - effectively shut down the southern border. I'll admit that this is the part of the plan I find the most viscerally distasteful, but I suppose if it's not supposed to be an open border, then it should be actually controlled.
2) Require all illegal aliens in the US to register at the post office and receive an ID card. He stresses these should be "tamper proof", which I assume is code for some kind of biometric system like fingerprints. This card would mean they have the right to work temporarily in the USA. However, being a non-US citizen in the US without one of those cards would now be a felony, meaning non-registered illegal aliens would be subject to immediate deportation or jail.
3) Increase the legal penalty for US businesses - serious jail time for the executives of companies who hire illegal, unregistered aliens (i.e. aliens who don't have this temporary ID card or some other visa).
4) Initiate a process of federal review for all the people who have the temporary cards, leading to the granting of Z-visas (residency visas) in some cases, and deportation in others - basically, take away the blanket amnesty and make it an individual case review system.
Also, as a general rule, any immigrant on a temporary card and convicted of a crime would be deported, and none of them would be eligible for welfare.
I've got to say, this seems broadly fair, though of course the devil is in the details. I'd like to see some consideration paid to history - i.e. people who have been in the US for a long time doing legitimate work would have that taken into consideration when being considered for the residency visas, and the number of visas granted would have to be quite large. It would also require a massive commitment of resources for reviewing all the cases, but that's doable.
I admit, the whole idea of a registration program, ID cards and a fence has a whiff of jackboots and "Ihre Papieren, bitte" about it, and I'm kind of uneasy about it on those grounds, but at the same time doing nothing isn't a solution. More generally, I don't think it's fair for people to come to the US illegally and stay indefinitely, even if they are good people, seeking opportunity and doing beneficial, difficult work. It should be easier to come to the US and get permission to work, no question, but it should also be controlled, and the plan O'Reilly outlined seemed as good as any I've heard. Am I nuts?
I just saw his segment on the failure of the immigration bill - that bloated, vindictive 800-page mess. He proposed a 4-point plan for dealing with the illegal immigration problem, and it actually struck me as largely reasonable, despite some qualms about the implementation. You can probably watch the video at the foxnews website, but basically it boiled down to this:
1) Build a 700mile border fence and patrol it with increased border patrol (with National Guard if necessary) - effectively shut down the southern border. I'll admit that this is the part of the plan I find the most viscerally distasteful, but I suppose if it's not supposed to be an open border, then it should be actually controlled.
2) Require all illegal aliens in the US to register at the post office and receive an ID card. He stresses these should be "tamper proof", which I assume is code for some kind of biometric system like fingerprints. This card would mean they have the right to work temporarily in the USA. However, being a non-US citizen in the US without one of those cards would now be a felony, meaning non-registered illegal aliens would be subject to immediate deportation or jail.
3) Increase the legal penalty for US businesses - serious jail time for the executives of companies who hire illegal, unregistered aliens (i.e. aliens who don't have this temporary ID card or some other visa).
4) Initiate a process of federal review for all the people who have the temporary cards, leading to the granting of Z-visas (residency visas) in some cases, and deportation in others - basically, take away the blanket amnesty and make it an individual case review system.
Also, as a general rule, any immigrant on a temporary card and convicted of a crime would be deported, and none of them would be eligible for welfare.
I've got to say, this seems broadly fair, though of course the devil is in the details. I'd like to see some consideration paid to history - i.e. people who have been in the US for a long time doing legitimate work would have that taken into consideration when being considered for the residency visas, and the number of visas granted would have to be quite large. It would also require a massive commitment of resources for reviewing all the cases, but that's doable.
I admit, the whole idea of a registration program, ID cards and a fence has a whiff of jackboots and "Ihre Papieren, bitte" about it, and I'm kind of uneasy about it on those grounds, but at the same time doing nothing isn't a solution. More generally, I don't think it's fair for people to come to the US illegally and stay indefinitely, even if they are good people, seeking opportunity and doing beneficial, difficult work. It should be easier to come to the US and get permission to work, no question, but it should also be controlled, and the plan O'Reilly outlined seemed as good as any I've heard. Am I nuts?