With the recent discussion of immigration and calls for “comprehensive immigration reform” from both Republican and Democratic Party leaders, the question is, why? Why “reform” something that is not being enforced now?  According to the United States Supreme Court, in Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. (2012), the federal government has preeminent power in immigration matters. But current laws are not enforced and “comprehensive immigration reform” will make an amnesty of three million illegal aliens from the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli Act look like a warmup. While the act granted amnesty to the illegal aliens already here, the final law stripped out any enforcement against employers who knowingly hired them and never funded a border fence.

It’s obvious that the leadership of both parties want another amnesty, but for different reasons. The Democrats want millions of more economically disadvantaged people dependent on federal payments, and willing to trade the checks for votes. The Republicans and Democrats, both wanting to keep their Chamber of Commerce masters happy, will gladly embrace amnesty to keep cheaper labor coming in, further saturating an already flooded no/low skilled labor pool.  

The results of this are obvious. First, it puts downward pressure on wages, particularly at the bottom end of the scale. Second, it limits the supply of jobs for poor people looking for entry level employment, such as poor minorities in the nation’s slums. We have imported a large criminal element, particularly gangs and narcotics. Also the deliberate lack of assimilation rips at our nation’s culture, causing more problems.

With that background, I propose not “comprehensive immigration reform”, but “universal immigration reform”. The components: 

1.  Secure our southern border with a two-layer fence from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Start it at the major points of entry used by illegal aliens, such as El Paso, TX, San Diego, CA and McAllen, TX and move outward. Man it with Border Patrol agents to handle the attempts at breech and use technology to check for the tunnels the coyotajes and narcotics gangs will dig. Will it stop 100% of illegal immigration over the border? No. But it will stop over 90% and that’s a bit better than 90% making it over. If you want proof that fences work, ask the Israelis. How to pay for it?  Assuming it cost 10 billion dollars (A rounding error on ObamaCare) that can be obtained with a 10% tax on money transfers to Mexico, estimated to be 23 billion a year.

2. Every illegal alien inmate in our prisons, upon completion of his sentence, will have his biometric data stored and then be deported. The numbers vary, but of approximately 2.2 million people in our prisons, over 300,000 are illegal aliens. From a recent GAO report:

“The number of criminal aliens in federal prisons in fiscal year 2010 was about 55,000, and the number of SCAAP criminal alien incarcerations in state prison systems and local jails was about 296,000 in fiscal year 2009 (the most recent data available), and the majority were from Mexico.”

It’s an open question as to how many migrant workers we need, but we need no more criminals. As a reminder, Kate Steinle’s alleged murderer was deported five times by ICE. The Houston Police Department has lost 14 officers since 2000. Six of them have been killed by illegal aliens, some deported multiple times.

3. Aliens on visa who are convicted felons, or documented gang members, will be deported to never return. We don't need any more MS-13 members. Additionally, documented aliens who have overstayed their visa need to be deported and allowed back in after they have reapplied and been granted a visa. This nation allowed you in for a certain time and purpose (e.g. studies or entertainment) and you are violating current law by staying. Estimates of the number of illegal aliens overstaying their visas vary from 2.1 to 4.1 million. DHS admits it does not have a functional method of tracking visa entries and exits. We must end sanctuary cities. If local government is refusing to turn over criminal illegal aliens, it is flouting federal law. Prosecute them and cut off their federal funding. Mr. Mayor, you want to hide these people from the law, you must suffer the consequences.

4. Repeal the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, aka the Hart–Celler Act. Set again as national policy that the United States establishes immigration limits by country, that new immigrants must have a sponsor and be able to support themselves.

5. Have a simple seasonal labor visa program. For industries that have legitimate labor needs, such as agriculture, allow a yearly work ID card that is only issued by American consulates in Mexico. Make eVerify mandatory and for companies that dodge it, fine them $10,000 per worker, which should “motivate” them to stay away from illegal aliens. After recent abuses with the H-1B program, we need to reduce it to a more manageable number (10,000 per year). Of note:

The intent of the H-1B provisions is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States.

To insure that we don’t have further abuse of this program, let’s institute what I’ll call “The Iger Clause”, after the Disney CEO who tried to lay off American high tech employees (Who would only get a severance if they trained their replacements.) and replace them with foreign contract workers on H-1B visas. Any company requesting this would have their chief executive sign under penalty of perjury that these personnel would not be used to replace current or available native-born American workers.  

Next, end “anchor baby” status by having our law reflect the true intention of the 14th Amendment, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States…” If your parents are not American citizens, you are not an American citizen. And to relieve our judicial system, strip the racial front groups (e.g. La Raza) of any standing to challenge this statue and place it outside the review of the federal courts. 

After stopping the invasion, what to do next?  First dust off the Jordan Report (Named after the chairwoman, former Democratic Represenatives Barbara Jordan) and implement it. Some of the major recommendations:

            a. Restrict Chain Migration to spouses and dependent children.

            b. Insure immigrants have sponsors and these sponsors “are responsible for ensuring that immigrants do not become burdens on the American taxpayer”

            c. Restrict public benefits (e.g. Welfare, Medicaid) for illegal aliens to emergency medical treatment only. People immigrating to this country should be able to support themselves.

Finally, we can begin the process of assimilating the people we have absorbed. We must end this disaster of English as a Second Language (ESL) that frustrates children as they are trying to learn and complicates the process for out schools. Only allow tests for licenses and other items in this nation’s language, English. Emphasize to all new immigrants you are not a Somali-American or a Nigerian-American, but an American. You come to the United States to immigrate, come to your new county and embrace it.