June 12, 2007

(South Carolina) - In an attempt to be "fair" and in the spirit of compromise, your friendly editor has been thinking about what it would take to please me and people like me, when it comes to some immigration legislation. Bear in mind that we already had a bill passed and signed, last year, which calls for an increase in penalties for illegal aliens and a fence along our southern border, neither portions of which are being observed, much less, enforced. Why we should think a new law will be any more observed or enforced strains the limits of my faith in government, which I admit, was never very strong to begin with.

So, if there is to be a compromise, there are four things which need to be confirmed, up front:

1. FIRST, there should be a policeable border fence between Mexico and the US for the entire 1,951 miles (3,141 km). It can be part real and part virtual as long as it can be policed. Add and arm 40,000 more officers to the border patrol to reflect the fact that we have more than one border.
2. Only those entering the United States can receive worker permits, which will be a GPS tracking card cued to the DNA of each individual and registered and tracked in a shared enforcement database. The card must be on their person at all times and should be the first identification produced, when asked for an ID. If you cross the border illegally, you go to jail and have your DNA catalogued. When you get out, you never come back in. When two of the same person show up, La Migre goes to the new signal and throws them in jail. If the GPS signal goes dark, you hunt them down, check the DNA, and throw them in jail. If you have no card, and can't prove your citizenship, you go to jail. If you don't have a card, you have to get one before you get in. If you lose your card, you have to get another one AT THE BORDER. Nothing but DNA-based cards will work. ANY OTHER SYSTEM CAN AND WILL BE FORGED.
3. Put a $1,500 bounty on the head of every illegal alien in America. That's 30-Billion Dollars - less than we've already spent on Iraq and far more effective. It would also create another cottage industry. Think Dog, el Recompensa Cazador.
4. If a business is found to have workers who cannot prove their citizenship and are without these cards, they can be fined to the extent that the punishment actually punishes the business AND stockholders, if any (federal lien on dividends, f'r'instance). And jail time for the corporate executives. No excuses.

If this sounds like the plan favored by Fred and Rudy, then you win a prize - it is somewhat similar - except for the kind of card and penalties for backsliding.

You'll notice there's nothing in there about the people already here. That's because 2, 3, and 4 take care of all that. No need to hunt them down, they will take care of that, themselves, if they want to stay here, out of jail. I do predict that the borders will be packed for a while with people trying to "re-enter." Like Rudy, I recognize that there is a trade-off. That's the compromise part.

But think of this way: The bad guys will, with the help of DNA ID, GPS location, and bounty hunters, come to us, rather than we wasting millions of border patrol man-hours hunting them down.

The law has to be specific, painful, and doable. All of this can be done. We have to keep the McCains and the Kennedys from "making it easier for the poor undocumented Americans." Kennedy's mind has been long lost to drink and McCain is only fooling himself. There must also be penalties for those in charge who don't hop to it and "get 'er done."

That's this editor's compromise. Of course, I'm being hyperbolic about the punishments, and I'm sure we'll have to settle for less, but it's how we all feel about trusting government.

- Dick Anderson