Security must be followed by comprehensive reform

This is a guest column submitted by the Doña Ana County commissioner, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce. Read Pearce’s column, which ran Monday, by clicking here. Al Kissling, Pearce’s other announced challenger, is out of the state and was not able to write a column.

By Bill McCamley

As a commissioner in the largest border county in New Mexico, I see the obvious necessity of dealing with the immigration issue. It affects every aspect of life in Southern New Mexico. While a focus on security is crucial, reform needs to be comprehensive to have a real chance at succeeding.

Security must be top priority

Our nation’s borders need to be totally secure, and this must be the No. 1 priority in any comprehensive plan. Criminals and terrorists who come here to break our laws must be stopped.

Assigning National Guard troops to assist Border Patrol and local sheriffs’ departments has been largely effective and must continue. Furthermore, we need to use new technologies like unmanned aerial vehicles, sensors and satellites to help us monitor this large area.

However, a physical fence is an enormous waste of taxpayers’ money. As Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said, “Show me a 50-foot wall and I’ll show you a 51-foot ladder.” Resources would be better spent not only on technological innovations, but also on creating immigration centers that will allow workers and legal immigrants the ability to enter the country in an efficient and responsible manner. Our nation needs more Ellis Islands, not Jurassic Park.

Comprehensive plan needed

Some in our nation advocate for a piecemeal approach to dealing with immigration. This method will not work.

First, because the problems are related, addressing one issue without considering connections with others only makes it more difficult to solve the entire problem. For example, addressing a citizenship policy will directly affect social services when parents are illegal but their children are citizens. Do those children stay and live with foster families, or do they go back to the home countries with their parents?

Second, trying to solve the problem in pieces will only give Washington politicians an excuse to invent politically convenient but less-effective fixes, like building a fence. We need our national leaders to take responsibility for all of the problems at the same time, or we will have ribbon cuttings for a few facilities, politicians will say the problem is fixed, and no real change will occur.

Third, the Bush Administration has shown a complete lack of competence when addressing large issues in a piecemeal manner. We were told that once formal military operations in Iraq were complete, that the rest would be easy. However, one only has to look at the lack of planning for maintaining this peace to see how a haphazard approach to dealing with a complicated issue can lead to massive problems down the road.

A three-point plan

What would comprehensive reform look like? There are at least three points that need to be addressed.

First, employers need to be held accountable when hiring illegal labor. Politicians who publicly state solutions to the immigration issue without focusing on employers are ignoring the law of supply and demand. If labor laws are constantly broken and worker pay is better for illegal jobs here than in neighboring nations, people will break the law to get in. We must enforce current labor laws or anything else will not work.

Second, a feasible avenue to legalization needs to be addressed for those willing to come and work hard while obeying the law. Twelve million undocumented workers are already here, and their situation is critical to this process. “Amnesty” or guaranteed citizenship is not an option, but a practical guest-worker plan that offers these people a shot at taking part in society without fear is critical. This plan has to address the needs to learn English and U.S. laws, pay taxes and get in line behind those already toiling to enter legally.

People who break the law after this program is implemented must be deported.

Third, increased legal immigration rates need to be allowed to give possible immigrants a reasonable shot at obtaining citizenship. This will give people a real incentive to fulfill the obligations required to become full participants in American society.

Immigration has been and will always be an important issue in our nation. Most of us are directly related to immigrants, and we need to remember that this process has always allowed the nation to recharge our national pride, diversity and economy.

If leaders have the courage to truly address the issue in a thorough and systematic manner, we can make sure that immigration will always remain an asset to our nation, rather than a problem.

McCamley, a Democrat and Doña Ana County commissioner, is challenging Steve Pearce to represent New Mexico’s second congressional district.