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I already posted this as an answer to a previous interesting post. I'd be interested to hear responses. It seems pretty fair to me, but what do I know?
But it does seem to me that the "anger" comes because of the people coming across the border "illegally." People want the laws enforced. It it's illegal, it's illegal.
Here's my half-cocked solution:
1. Begin to really prosecute the employers who hire the illegals and make it a mandatory 6 months or $10,000 if you're caught hiring an illegal. Use all moneys to support the border patrols, build prisons, etc. I think during about a 2-year period in the Clinton Admin about 400 cases were brought against employers for this crime; in the Bush admin in a comparable period, about 4. There's a message there.
2. For those illegals coming across the border, warn them the first time that the second time they are caught coming across illegally, they will automatically receive 6 months prison or $5,000 fine. Use all the moneys to support the border patrol agents, build prisons, etc. The third and all succeeding times they're caught, 1 year prison and $10,000. I really think this will be better for those coming across illegally as well as those on this side of the border and it will definitely mute the "rage" of the folks who believe, probably rightly, that many criminals (esp drug dealers) are corrupting the cities along the border, making them into drug gang outposts. Nobody likes to see big increases in murders, drug crimes, rapes, child molestation, etc., which is happening in many communities along the border. It's the "illegality" of it that enrages citizens. Why reward crime? It's a hard argument to counter.
3. Tear down the fence, build bigger prisons along the border, and increase patrols and arrests. This will be necessary for the time being, at least until the illegals get the message. And if this is done consistently in every state, both borders, they will get the message, and the extra prisons sold off and the money used for Maytag washing machines for the border patrol people whose jobs will now be a good deal cushier.
4. Go ahead with the programs to deal with those already in the country illegally, but if individuals don't turn themselves in, make it mandatory as above, 6 months or $5,000 as above. And second and subsequent violators, 1 year and $10,000. Of course, there'd have to be a lot of qualifications in dealing with this part of it because of families and so on.
5. Make it the same for all immigrants from all countries.
6. Make it easier for immigrants to come from MX "legally." And publicize it in MX as well as the US, so that those who have a real desire to come for economic reasons can come. Something like a bracero program for those who want to come "legally" for a certain prescribed period of time would also be a good idea for both "guest workers" and the business that claim they need to labor. It would also be easier to require humane treatment of the workers.
7. Invest in the border in ways that might really help the economies of both countries, hopefully help MX grow their own economy.
The only place where I think Dems would have a problem is #2. Incidentally, the idea of imprisoning those caught for about 6 months has been tried in several places along the border according to some TV reports I've seen and the illegals very soon stopped coming across in those areas.
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