Platform Issue #2 - Immigration

Immigration is a hot topic these days, and many people right now list it either #1 or #2 among the major political issues of our time.

Whatever one thinks about illegal immigration, the problems it is presenting for our country cannot be ignored. While it is probably true that the majority of illegal immigrants simply want to work hard and build a better life for their families, it is also true that illegal immigration is creating massive problems placing unprecedented stress on our welfare, healthcare, education, and justice systems.

Illegals access social services and healthcare in massive numbers that US citizen taxpayers cannot sustain. Among the aliens sneaking across the border are drug smugglers and gang members driving up crime and stressing law enforcement resources. And finally, in these critical times where our government must protect citizens from the very real threat of terrorism, we can no longer risk open borders that might help terrorists gain entry to carry out their destruction in our cities.

In a strange alliance, we're seeing politicians on both the left and right doing their level best to ignore this huge national security issue. The political left use rhetoric that pretends these illegals are the equivalent to all other, legal, immigrants, and those who wish to control the borders do so solely out of racist and xenophobic world views. On a more practical and perhaps cynical level, the left welcomes illegal immigrants and work hard to support uncontrolled voting rights laws that allow those immigrants to vote, presumably for their left-wing candidates.

The political right looks the other way on illegal immigration for very different, but no less cynical purposes. To those politicians on the right, illegal immigrants supply a cheap source of labor to their corporate benefactors, who encourage lax border enforcement so they can continue to fill their unskilled positions with sub-minimum-wage workers from across the border who are happy to work for low wages and no benefits.

Some raise an argument that illegal immigrants fill jobs that no native-born American will take. Whether or not this is true depends on how the conditions of those jobs are defined. If the definition of the job is unskilled and perhaps difficult and physical work for minimum wage with no benefits, then it is true that most native-born Americans will not accept the job. But the same job with a higher wage and benefits could definitely attract US-born workers.

And even legal immigration is hurting some sectors of our workforce, especially in the technical and customer service industries. I've personally seen the legal importation of technology workers from India who specifically displaced their higher-wage US-born counterparts for no reason other than the Indians were willing to work longer hours for a fraction of the compensation.

There are some fundamental principles involved in this issue, which form the foundation for my policy on immigration as President:

1. As a matter of national security, the first priority of my administration is to seal the borders, both northern and southern. The borders will be strictly enforced, and illegal immigration will cease.
2. The legal immigration policy will be modified to permit immigration under specific circumstances. For example, companies can sponsor immigration of foreign workers either on temporary work permits or on a citizenship track by demonstrating that there is a need for the foreign workers to fill open positions that cannot be filled with US Citizens. The policy would not grant work permits for foreign workers being imported to displace US citizen employees. Recognizing that Central and South American workers have long been a mainstay in agriculture and other industries, legal temporary work permits will be made available for those workers, but based on sponsorship from the companies who plan to employ them. Employers will be asked to assist the government in policing immigrants, identifying those who overstay their work permits or quit their jobs and try to disappear into the population.

There are not many laws that need to be changed, but perhaps somewhat modified to help streamline the immigration processes. Otherwise, the resources need to be employed to make sure we effectively regain control over our borders and protect our citizens from terrorism.