Watching the Senate Judiciary Committee vote for what is
effectively another amnesty for illegal immigrants is pretty
galling. Numerous immigration and border security bills are moving
in Congress, and immigration is sure to be a hot button issue in
November's mid-term election. But the bill that was voted out of
the Senate committee on Monday by a 12 to 6 vote, and is gathering
momentum in part because of demonstrations in California and
elsewhere has left Republicans deeply divided and has provisions
that are truly problematic.
The bill would legalize the 11 million illegal immigrants
currently residing in the United States. It would further hold out
the promise of citizenship to those who have jobs, learn English,
and pay fines and taxes. How many that will be is of course a
question, but the bottom line is that by a stroke of the pen, 11
million people will move from illegal to legal status. There is
only one message this can send to others who are looking to enter
this country illegally - it's every bit worth the gamble because
eventually, you too will get your green card.
By contrast, the bill that passed in the House of Representatives,
and which is occasioning a lot of the demonstrations would make it
a felony to reside illegally in the United States. That may sounds
good to those who want to get tough on immigration, but can only be
enforced if we start building more prisons tomorrow and as far as
the eye can see.
Now, the Senate legislation also has more promising aspects as
well, to wit a temporary guest worker program that would allow
about 400,000 guest workers to come to the United States a year.
This is a much more reasonable approach. Most illegal immigrants
are here to seek jobs, and American employers need them - which is
a big part of the pressure on Republicans. Guest workers would be
like other working visa holders, H or I visa holders, regulated
legal basis within a set of understandable guidelines, which can
and must be lawfully enforced.
A major problem with the U.S. immigration process is its
susceptibility to political winds. That immigration benefits the
United States immensely is not in doubt, but both Republicans and
Democrats seek the votes and backing of pro-immigration groups at
various times throwing the entire process into illogical
disarray.
The idea of another amnesty is particularly outrageous when you are
among those who had to invest a lot of patience, effort and in some
cases lawyers' fees to get through the U.S. immigration process in
the legal way. This writer is one of them, having resided in the
United States for 25 years, and becoming a proud citizen after 16.
Millions of us have jumped through the legal hoops in order to get
that coveted green card.
And then we find -- as yours truly did in the late 1980s -- that
illegal immigrants at various times have been able to get their
green cards by simply walking into an INS office and confessing
their transgression. The1980s produced two amnesties, and the
consequence was - oddly enough - another flow of illegal
immigration. Condoning illegal behavior is the way to create a
problem, not solve one.
That the U.S. legal immigration process is frustrating and slow is
beyond doubt. The INS bureaucracy is sometimes startlingly erratic,
and immigration judges can be mercurial. But it also ensures that
those who make it through are truly committed to your oath of U.S.
citizenship - you really have to be. And you know that becoming an
American citizen is a privilege, not a right.
Sometimes, of course, you do get lucky with the direction of the
political winds. In the late 1990s, President Clinton's citizenship
initiative - which was designed to create a lot more Democrat
voters ahead of the 1996 presidential election- greased the skids
for yours truly among many others. However, at the citizenship
ceremony in the D.C. courthouse, only about half of those scheduled
to be there turned up. The rest were caught up in belated criminal
background checks that had been neglected in the rush before the
elections.
When you finally take your oath of citizenship, none of that
matters, of course. It is a huge and meaningful moment. Is there
any way to get politics out of the immigration process? Probably
not, but it is still worth remembering that principles and
nationhood is what it is all about.
Helle Dale is director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.