A lot of Conservatives are not going to be happy with me (at first) and that’s okay, but if we want to solve the problem I am convinced this is the ONLY way it can be done.  Please post feedback, I have thick skin don’t worry. 

 Immigration Reform – Where Should We Start?

1.  First of all… Keep race completely out of the discussion.  If you create legislation that is susceptible to a “race” issue… fix it before you flaunt it on National Television.  I understand the frustration with the illegal immigration problem, it’s out of hand, & the federal government doesn’t seem to want to fix it. 

2.  Second… Keep ANY POTENTIAL for racial discriminatory practice(s) out of the legislation. 

3.  Any enforcement measure has to be neutral & generally applicable to all…  Otherwise we’re wasting our breath.  You can’t have a Bill that suggests any kind of  “racial profiling” or allowing police officers to use subjective judgment about “who looks like an illegal alien” (Arizona!!!).  No it’s not expressly written in their bill, but giving officers the discretion to decide whether or not someone looks suspicious of being in America illegally…  #1 Officers aren’t going to be comfortable with that, #2 it opens the door to all kinds of further race debates, #3 There is no specific physical feature that differentiates illegal immigrants from legal immigrants or citizens. 

In fact, Arizona, now that we know you haven’t thought any of this through… next time you write a Bill that has to do with immigration law enforcement… I suggest hiring an out of state legislature to do it for you.

“Well what do you propose ‘Oh Great One’?”

1. Shift the focus away from trying to “hunt down” illegal immigrants…. That’s just freaking ridiculous.�
2. Expose the reason(s) people come here illegally & then focus ALL efforts on eliminating those incentives.

Illustration:
Let’s say Employment is a big reason that many are willing to overstay a VISA or sneak across the Mexican or Canadian border (yeah I said Canada…).  The last I heard, it was not legal to hire an illegal immigrant… so why does it still happen? There has to be some “benefit” to the employer.  Here’s a hint… it has a lot to do with the employer’s desire to save $$money$$ himself, so much so that he’s willing to criminalize himself to do so.

So let’s start somewhere like that.  Now… from what I have “heard”… (basically that means I’m talking out of my backside with this hypothetical & haven’t researched jack about working conditions for illegal aliens…) many illegal immigrants that are hired illegally are working for less than minimum wage, not eligible for workman’s compensation if they are injured on the job, placed into poor working conditions, many times the employer is using threats to turn the worker in as leverage to coerce the worker for whatever reason, etc. etc…

What are some ideas to handle this? Oh… gee… I don’t know, I imagine there are laws against SLAVERY!!  Isn’t this a form of modern day slavery? Sure they’re free to leave I guess… but if every other aspect of their life is better than where they came from (kids get to go to school, emergency room treatment, etc.) these individuals might choose to suffer at the “nice guy” employer’s business., shop, plant, work site, farm, etc.

So here’s my suggestion on (1) What to do & (2) the language Conservatives need to use in shaping the debate about this:  Seriously crack down on businesses that are known to take advantage of & exploit the immigration status of illegal immigrants. Make the penalties so damn serious that it would be completely insane to even consider hiring somebody “under the table”…

If we want to win this debate, get the American people behind us, & finally secure the borders and make America safe then this is how our argument needs to come across:

• Don’t demonize the immigrants, it’s not their fault the Federal Government has refused to acknowledge & effectively do something to correct the problem of illegal immigration since the 1980’s… where (and yes write this date down & print this out my liberal friends! Reagan was the President and yes I am saying this…) where what we did do, after granting Amnesty to those here illegally, has obviously failed.
• The American government certainly hasn’t given the immigrants any reason to believe that they plan on changing anything, any time soon, or that when they do actually do something that they will be serious about it…
• With that in mind, can we blame people for getting comfortable & trying to make a life here?

The solution is NOT to demonize the illegal immigrants… we need to Absolutely CRUSH the slave masters who incentivize these people to break our immigration laws.

Next Problem:
“Well gee Jason… you don’t think that people can get fake documents & use them to get jObs?”

Actually no, I am aware of this problem too. So obviously, the next area of focus needs to be new INSANE security measures with regard to citizenship documents, VISAs, etc. Also impose new RIDICULOUS security requirements for State documents (the issuing of birth certificate & drivers licenses, etc.) [by the way... I don’t know which ones will be better the INSANE or the RIDICULOUS security measures, the point is THEY NEED to actually work!]

Documents need to be as impossible to counterfeit as humanly possible & of course what can be afforded… BUT No Cheaping Out! If Americans are serious about reforming this, then it needs to be done right!

Review:
1. Completely wipe-out/vanquish the incentive(s) for coming into the US illegally or overstaying a VISA.
2. Make the burden of counterfeit so damn burdensome (economically & craftsmanship) that only a madman would bother to try & counterfeit documents. (If he actually succeeds, he’s probably somebody you don’t want to mess with… )
3. Don’t let the Arizona State Legislature write the Bill.

What’s the point?  What the hell would this even do?

Put yourself in the shoes of someone who is in America illegally & think about your options when NOBODY will hire you.  If I were here illegally… which nobody “really” knows whether I am or not (just sayin’)… if it became pretty much impossible for me to live here or acquire what I came here to get, you wouldn’t need to “round me up”, I Would Just Deport Myself.

This doesn’t even address the ridiculous National Security risks where our government has completely looked the other way. Obviously #4,  after don’t let Arizona write up the Bill, would be to actually secure our borders.

I highly doubt anybody in Washington is going to actually try & solve a problem. This is an election year, they may actually pass a Bill… but who knows what to expect on that?  One thing we can all expect:  Washington politicians trying to get all sides riled up & making it all about “RACE”.  One thing, strategically, that Conservatives need to do is to shut that argument down.

For the record, if Washington is serious this time… if they really want to secure our borders &  they really want to take national security seriously… AND they put some teeth in the Bill so that it actually happens (I know, I know… I’m dreaming here… BUT) If this is really the case then Do Not Allow this debate to be centered on “what to do with the people already here illegally…”  the answer to that issue would be of course they can stay if they’re willing to begin the process & meet the traditional criteria to become United States Citizens.

The way to tell if Washington is serious about reform or not will be where they choose to focus the debate. If it’s all about “race” & what to do with those here illegally… then this is just another Political Show. If they actually make efforts to keep the focus on solutions to stop further illegal immigration & beef up National Security, and the resulting legislation truly does exactly that, then we don’t really have much to debate about.

Washington (& the media) will tell us if they’re REALLY serious about Immigration Reform or NOT.

Will it be #1 “What to do with those already here illegally” or Will it be #2 “What to do about stopping FURTHER illegal immigration with a serious focus on National Security/Securing our borders”?

If the focus is #1, then this is all one big Political Show to rile you up.  Shut down any debate on race, call them out for bringing it into the discussion, do not allow yourself to be pulled into this discussion.  Our position must be:  “We’re here to fix this immigration problem once & for all, you keep talking about race for no other reason than to get people excited & redirect the everyone’s attention so that nothing is accomplished or resolved, & quite frankly I Will Not stoop to your level.”

If the focus is #2, then I suggest we take the debate seriously, but whatever is “promised” better have some teeth in it & somebody needs to be accountable & that somebody needs to be EXPRESSLY NAMED in the Bill… No Exceptions.

That’s all.

Jason Bradley

p.s. Arizona… you really make no sense to me right now.  Whether you intended to or not you allowed the debate to begin on the race issue by not thinking beyond stage one. 

Shut The “Race Debate” Down!    This is About Immigration Reform!

http://excellenceinamerica.com/?p=1871 <—-  What Happens to Those Here Illegally?******

Other Links:

Michelle Malkin:  They’re Back – Open Borders Extremists

Hot Air:  “Obama Pulling Race Card in 2010?”

Hot Air: Steele “GOP Immigration Policy Has To Be Family Based”