By some estimates, there are thirty million illegal aliens in the United States.  Illegals have been pouring in at the rate of at least two million a year, and now that influx is being deliberately increased.  Leftists want to give them amnesty.  Illegals are being issued driver's licenses.  Illegals will also be allowed to vote in municipal elections.  They are even being given payments, which will ensure they'll vote Democrat.  Does anyone doubt that mail-in shenanigans are planned for the 2024 election?  Leftists are willing to intentionally demolish this country if that's what it takes to stay in power. 

Inevitably, the day will come when the government will be forced to control the border.  We will then be stuck with all the illegal aliens who made it in.  To nobody's surprise, the government has "lost track" of most of them. 

I'd like to propose a model for decisively dealing with these illegal aliens once the border is finally secure.  Here are some of the necessary, commonsense measures we'll need. 

First, these basic immigration laws should be instituted immediately:

1. No "sanctuary states" or "sanctuary cities" will be permitted.  Federal immigration law supersedes state and local laws.  Any state or city proclaiming itself a "sanctuary" for illegal aliens will forfeit all federal funding for that state.  States or cities trying to thwart Border Patrol or ICE enforcement will similarly lose all federal funding for that state.
2. "Birthright citizenship" for the children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. must be abolished immediately.  No child of an illegal alien will qualify as a U.S. citizen simply by being born on U.S. soil.  No more "birth tourism" — the practice of coming to the U.S. on a visa, giving birth while here, and the child automatically becomes a U.S. citizen.  Only the children of permanent, legal immigrants will have birthright citizenship. 
3. "Chain migration" — the practice of expediting the immigration of the extended families of immigrants — must be abolished immediately.  That system has been deliberately abused and needs to be scrapped, or at least revamped with tightened controls.
4. "Asylum" rules must be strictly enforced and significantly tightened.  Migrants shouldn't be allowed to cross several other countries to seek asylum in the U.S.  Economic reasons at home, or nebulous claims of "being afraid," do not justify asylum.  Asylum must be restricted to defined, demonstrable emergencies only, not abused to facilitate easy entry into the U.S., as it is now.
5. There will be no "expedited citizenship process," or "amnesty," for any illegal alien, no matter how long he's been in the country or how he got here.  Criminal behavior must not be rewarded, and aliens who broke the law cannot be allowed to "cut the line" ahead of law-abiding immigrants.

Second, we need a process to deal with illegal aliens who are already here.  I suggest something along these lines:

A "deadline date" would be selected by which all illegal aliens must leave the U.S. or register.  This includes DACA recipients, people already granted temporary asylum, those who have pending immigration court dates, and any other illegal alien whose status has not been fully, legally settled. 

This registration would be done, in person, at the local city hall, and a special card, with a photo and a biometric fingerprint, would be issued to the registrant to carry.  This registration would be kept on file by the federal government so local authorities can verify an identity through a photo and fingerprint if no card is present. 

Immediately after the deadline date, an active effort to verify immigration status and apprehend unregistered illegal aliens must begin. 

1. After the deadline date, anyone entering the U.S. illegally for any reason, and anyone who has already entered but failed to register, will be arrested and summarily deported.  He will permanently forfeit any opportunity for future legal immigration.  Future attempts by that person to illegally immigrate would result in jail time in the U.S., followed by immediate deportation.  Anyone harboring or employing an unregistered illegal alien would face jail time.
2. Anyone who entered the U.S. illegally during the six months prior to the deadline date, but who registers by the deadline date, won't be allowed to stay, but he will be allowed two months to leave the country.  He would qualify for government assistance to return home if he cannot afford to do so (flying him home is cheaper than keeping him).  This help must be requested before the two-month time limit expires, and the request will be noted in his record.  However, because he cooperated with the process and registered, he will still be allowed to apply for entry after he goes home. 
3. Aliens who can prove they entered the U.S. illegally more than six months prior to the deadline date, but who register by the deadline date, will be offered a choice:

a. If they return home within two months, they will still be allowed to apply for entry after they return home.  They also qualify for government assistance to return home if they cannot afford to do so on their own. 

b. If they want to stay because of roots they've set down in the U.S. while they were here illegally, they can stay.  However, they will not be allowed to vote in any election.  They will not be eligible for Social Security, a regular driver's license, welfare, or food stamps.  They will not receive cash handouts, "free phones," or other such benefits.  These aliens can apply for legal entry while they stay, but they will start that process at the end of the line.  These aliens cannot be allowed the opportunity to "cut the line" ahead of legal immigrants who applied for citizenship, waited their turn, and obeyed U.S. law.  They will not receive any of the rights accorded to legal immigrants until they have fully completed the legal immigration process.

Note: The only exception to this "benefit ban" should be this: an illegal alien who is registered and allowed to stay may apply for a special, boldly marked "driving permit" so he can be employed and pay taxes, but not a regular driver's license.

4. No illegal alien will be counted in the U.S. Census.  Instead, a separate tally of registered illegal aliens allowed to stay will be kept by the federal government.  The practice of adding illegal aliens to the Census for the purpose of increasing representation in Congress and adding electoral votes will be outlawed.  States caught adding illegals to their census numbers will lose federal funding.  Any illegal alien, registered or not, caught trying to be counted in the Census will be deported and lose the right to apply for citizenship later.  Any illegal alien caught trying to vote in any election, whether federal, state, or local, will be deported and lose the right to apply for citizenship later.

The corrupt politicians who've deliberately caused this crisis don't want it solved, but it must be solved.  If Republicans can take power in 2024, we need to demand that they adopt a solid plan to solve this problem and act on it immediately.

Image: woodleywonderworks via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.