ILLEGAL ALIENS AND THE FIX

Recently in Minneapolis, a man of Chinese decent was arrested for a murder that occurred sixteen years ago. Federal marshals swooped in and picked him up at the Chinese restaurant where he had worked for the last seven years off and on. His employer apparently knew very little about him since he was a part of the so-called Chinese restaurant worker’s underground whose workers are paid under the table in cash with no records being kept. No social security number, no ID, no nothing. Today that restaurant is still in business with no apparent sanction for their violation of our law. The suspect was difficult to find because he had left little or no paper trail. Employers like this restaurant are hiring illegal workers violating our laws with no penalty; from meat packers to landscapers, to farmers.

I have been tuning in to the National Geographic Channel lately to watch “Border Wars.” It shows the millions we are spending chasing down illegal trespassers and drug smugglers. The Border Patrol’s struggle is a daily grind with thousands of illegals being picked up and subsequently returned to their homes, only to turn around and come back to try again. The so-called “border war” is a losing situation. It is heart breaking to see these poor people trying to get to America where they believe the money will flow like water and all their troubles will come to an end.

This nonsense has to come to an end. We cannot absorb all the poor people of the world who want to improve their lives. The situation is rapidly becoming impossible. That is why twenty-one additional states will be introducing legislation this year similar to Arizona’s immigration law. We the people have had enough. This is just the beginning. These new laws will only serve as a band-aid however. We need a permanent fix.

This is my proposal. First, fine or imprison any employer who hires an illegal alien, period. That means all employers from Hormel to the avocado farmer with ten acres of trees. No one can be legally hired without a valid social security number and those numbers must be verified. Secondly, all existing employees must prove they are here legally. They would be given a month to do so. Those who do not would be dismissed and deported. In a matter of days most of the illegals would deport themselves. With no job and no welfare there would be no reason to stay.

But Ron, we would have a serious shortage of people willing to take the jobs these illegals have been filling. Possibly, but remember we have an unemployment rate of near 10%. I am willing to bet that of the millions of our citizens who are without jobs, some of these situations might look better to them than you think.

This brings us to the next phase of the fix. Our government would immediately put in place a guest worker program whereby non-citizens could work here for a specified period of time legally and could even possibly extend their visit with proper employer recommendation, clean arrest record, and a willingness to obey our laws. These individuals would be issued a non-copyable ID card showing their dates of entry and their dates of required departure. Their spouses would also have to have such a card. Any minor children that come with them would be welcome in our schools. Further, any children born to them while they are in this country would not automatically become American citizens. They would be required to have legitimate driver’s licenses, carry necessary auto and health insurance, and would not qualify in any way for our welfare system. They would be expected to pay all legal taxes just as everyone else is.

Any employer who hires an individual without proper identification would be subject to fines and/or imprisonment. Any employer who retains an illegal employee is subject to these same sanctions.

This fix would serve us by, number one, stopping the flood of people coming to America illegally. Two, employers would be able to have available employees for their commerce. Number three, we could have a much better idea who is in our country and where they are. Finally, our unemployment would be reduced by half.

Should any of these guests wish to try and become citizens, they are welcome to do so legally.

I know some of this fix sounds harsh, but I assure you the alternative would be much worse. The time to get busy with this is now.


Ron Scarbro January 9, 2011