Rational Solution to Illegal Immigration

I part company with protectionist conservatives. A bit.

Securing our borders is a matter of national security. We need to know who is entering the country. Widespread border jumping is dangerous. No disagreement, yet.

Here we go, though. I think we should welcome those who want learn English, join our culture and contribute to our national product. Make it easy to cross the border for jobs and immigration leading to citizinship. If we did that, we would get people making crossings in such a way that we know who is coming in. I do not buy the argument that they take jobs away from Americans. Immigrants create jobs, because they need stuff too (clothes, food, gasoline, cars), so they add to the consumption side of the equation as well as production side.

Making it easy to bring in workers will put the coyotes out of business. No more dropping people in the desert, so they end up in hospitals at American taxpayer expense. No more profit in illegal border crossings.

We should reject and refuse to new immigrants any taxpayer-funded social services, for, say two years. Don't make this country an attractive place to those who simply want us to take care of them.

Patrol the borders more effectively. If it were easy for workers to get documentation, to get in for work and to truly assimilate, there would be no incentive for people to immigrate to get welfare. Only terrorists or other undesireables will be border jumping.

Let's reduce our real border problem to a national security problem, so we can focus on protection of American citizens form those who want to kill us.

As for the illegals who are already here, keep the ones who are working or who are supported by someone working. Let them avoid deportation by showing assimilation into our culture and our economy. Deport those on public assistance and those who won't assimilate (including language assimilation).

Assimilating into our culture does not include those who want to behead unbelievers or subjugate unbelievers to second class citizenship under a theocratic rule. (You know who I mean.)

There. I said it and I'm glad.