{"id":17371,"date":"2010-05-17T08:44:50","date_gmt":"2010-05-17T14:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=17371"},"modified":"2010-05-17T08:44:52","modified_gmt":"2010-05-17T14:44:52","slug":"ideas-for-comprehensive-immigration-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/05\/ideas-for-comprehensive-immigration-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"Ideas for comprehensive immigration reform"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Johnny F. Lu\u00e9vano Jr.<\/p><\/div>\n

On May 6th, the Albuquerque Journal published an op-ed<\/a> from the chairman of the New Mexico Democratic Party, Javier Gonzales, concerning Arizona\u2019s controversial immigration stance. Mr. Gonzales states that \u201cwe\u2019ve all heard\u201d about this law, agrees that we need to implement comprehensive immigration reform and ends his article with admitting that \u201cimmigration reform is a conversation we need to have in New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

So at the risk of getting stoned to death for having an opinion, let\u2019s get the conversation started. One thing that stood out to me about the chairman\u2019s opinion was that he did not propose any ideas on how to solve this problem.<\/p>\n

Leadership 101: A leader doesn\u2019t merely complain. He or she provides solutions to problems that are substantive, specific, realistic and attainable. Politicians attempt to drive the debate with wedge rhetoric based on partial truths and providing vague \u201ccatch phrase solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Gonzales\u2019 solution is \u201ccomprehensive immigration reform,\u201d so what does this entail Mr. Chairman?<\/p>\n

We all agree that illegal immigration in our country is a problem and, contrary to democratic opinion, we all agree, including Republicans, that racial profiling is not part of the solution. The bottom line with the final Arizona bill is that it specifically prohibits racial profiling and only occurs during an illegal infraction.<\/p>\n

I do agree with the chairman on one point: The language \u201creasonable suspicion\u201d does not sit well with most folks, and I am not here to defend the final Arizona bill. I would advocate for something that is more specific for us regular folks to understand in order to remove all doubt or grey area of the law.<\/p>\n

My ideas for reform<\/h3>\n

Here are some of my ideas for \u201ccomprehensive immigration reform.\u201d I would note that these are ideas, not concrete, cumulative final solutions. I do this in my limited spare time, so I am sure those in office and our political candidates can surely come up with something better in their full-time pursuit of public leadership.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with things most of us can agree upon. There are approximately 12-14 million illegal immigrants in our country today and they are a financial burden on all aspects of our society. The majority of Americans \u2013 including Republicans \u2013 do not want to tear apart families in a forced deportation process, and no one wants to reward illegal behavior. This is the problem we face today and there are no easy solutions.<\/p>\n

But I see an opportunity for us to develop smart, outside-the-box policies that can help reform two major problems that confront us in the 21st century \u2013 illegal immigration and our mounting budget shortfalls.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Border Security<\/h3>\n

First we must recognize our realistic limitations on physically securing the southern border by admitting that a big ole\u2019 fence combined with smarter technology and more manpower isn\u2019t the end all solution. I do agree these tools will help, but securing the border needs to become a more collaborative approach with the federal government taking the lead and partnering with local city, county and state agencies.<\/p>\n

This is an idea that the Arizona bill has stumbled upon and I would call this a \u201clayered border security approach.\u201d \u00a0The idea behind illegal immigration seems focused on crossing the border and, once across, an illegal immigrant is home free. We need to eliminate this thought process by utilizing all of our public safety resources in a never-ending, layered approach to border security.<\/p>\n

Currently we have border checkpoints posted throughout our country. Officers there ask everyone if they are U.S. citizens. Is it unreasonable to eliminate the \u201creasonable suspicion\u201d clause and make it standard operating procedure to ask everyone for driver\u2019s license, insurance and whether they are U.S. citizens during every illegal infraction at all levels of government?<\/p>\n

Surely opinions will vary, but a realistic policy will admit the federal government cannot attain \u201ccomprehensive illegal immigration reform\u201d without the assistance of local governments.<\/p>\n

Jobs, jobs, jobs<\/h3>\n

As a novice economist, I believe the most efficient and effective solution is to develop an instant work verification system that will enable employers to easily verify citizenship status of prospective applicants. If we are able to produce a system that can reliably assist employers in this verification process, then we can begin to discuss employer penalties for hiring illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is to cut off employment to illegal immigrants by minimizing the hoops an employer must jump through in order to stem the main motivation of an illegal immigrants\u2019 desire to come to the United States.<\/p>\n

If there are no jobs available to illegal immigrants, there will be fewer illegal immigrants willing to come to the United States, and we can begin concentrating most of our resources on those who continue to cross our borders for illegal purposes.<\/p>\n

Pathway to citizenship<\/h3>\n

Providing a pathway to citizenship for the 12-14 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States is probably the most complicated portion of \u201ccomprehensive immigration reform.\u201d \u00a0This policy needs to be balanced with empathy and toughness in order to respect an individual\u2019s human civil rights and the respect of law that governs our country. So here are my ideas on this issue:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Provide a set timeline for every illegal immigrant to voluntary come out of hiding and register in a new \u201cguest workers permit program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Establish a minimum timeline and certain criteria that need to be accomplished before a newly registered illegal immigrant can be eligible for citizenship. I suggest at minimum 10-20 years.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Pass a background investigation that is paid for by the new guest worker.<\/p>\n

\u2022 An illegal immigrant can be eligible for employment in the United States after enrolling in the \u201cguest workers program\u201d and providing some form of proof to the hiring employer.<\/p>\n

\u2022 All federal taxes collected through the new guest workers program will be earmarked to offset the increased funding of securing the border and paying down the national debt.<\/p>\n

\u2022 No guest worker will be eligible for any tax credit or tax refund for a set period of time \u2013 again I recommend at least 10-20 years. This means if a new guest worker pays $1,000 in taxes, he or she doesn\u2019t receive any refund whatsoever. Absolutely nothing, nada\u2026. zip, zilch, zero refund, no pay due, do not pass go or collect $200.<\/p>\n

\u2022 No guest worker will be eligible for any tax credits or tax refund at the state level as well. Again, these funds should be earmarked to fund the additional burdens placed upon education, health care and public safety.<\/p>\n

\u2022 No guest worker will be eligible for any tax breaks or credits.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Any committed illegal infraction, outside of a routine traffic ticket, will be a breach of contract and the path to citizenship will be eliminated.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Guest workers will not be eligible to vote, and any attempt at voter fraud will violate the pathway to citizenship and the possibility of deportation will commence.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Require guest workers to learn English, with no additional government funding.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If an illegal immigrant comes into contact with the law through our new \u201clayers of border security approach,\u201d he or she must provide proof of enrollment in the new guest workers program.<\/p>\n

\u2022 After honoring and providing proof of all set criteria, an illegal immigrant can apply for but is not guaranteed citizenship. The burden of proof will be on the guest worker to provide all qualifying documentation.<\/p>\n

Not the end-all solution<\/h3>\n

Of course these ideas are not the end-all solution, but hopefully one or two will be helpful to those in a decision-making position.<\/p>\n

Again I believe most Americans do not want to implement a forced deportation process, and most Americans do not want to reward illegal behavior through an easy path to citizenship. I also believe most illegal immigrants will be anxious to \u201cpull their own weight\u201d and to self-sacrifice if given the opportunity to earn their citizenship.<\/p>\n

The increase in tax revenues can help to alleviate our mounting debt and offset the financial burden of illegal immigration at all levels of government.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.\u201d – John F. Kennedy<\/a><\/p>\n

Lu\u00e9vano, a newly registered Republican, is a life-long New Mexico resident and an Artesia native who currently lives in Tucson, Arizona. He graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2001 with a bachelor\u2019s in political science and economics and from the University of Kansas in 2008 with a master\u2019s in public administration. You can reach Lu\u00e9vano at <\/em>jfluevano@gmail.com<\/em><\/a> or on <\/em>Facebook<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lu\u00e9vano bio<\/a> \u2502\u00a0Archives<\/a> \u2502\u00a0Feed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all agree that illegal immigration in our country is a problem and, contrary to democratic opinion, we all agree, including Republicans, that racial profiling is not part of the solution. Here are my ideas for comprehensive immigration reform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,153],"tags":[140],"class_list":["post-17371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-luevano-columns","tag-border-and-immigration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17371\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}