Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Illigeal Imigration in the USA, or why I hate spin words.

Ugh.. the linguistics battle has really heated up over all this, and I hate battles of spin words, instead of thoughtful discourse. I prefer to argue ideas rather than ideology.

What the talking heads seem to be arguing over now is what they are calling amnesty. Amnesty means we dont throw illegal immigrants (ill get to this phrase in a bit) in jail. It does not mean we have to give them citizenship. It simply means we would forgive them for the transgressions they have made.

The language tactics are very blunt, with arguments like "how can a human being be illegal" and other such nonsensical drivel. A human being isn't illegal, they commit illegal actions. As well with the push to use "undocumented migrants". Well, entering this country without documentation is illegal, so at the best the statements are equivocal, and at the worst, "undocumented migrants" is simply more vague.

Both sides of the fence seem equally absurd to me. Building a fence, its not a solution, the Britons live on an island and they have over half a million illegal immigrants! Its not physical access, a fence or a canal or a desert wont keep people out. Its how much you care about that line in the dirt, its people. It you want to prevent the illegal transit of drugs and people over your border, you have to have people watch it. What is needed is a competent, well funded, and equipped border patrol. Give them the authority and the means and they can do it. This is the only way you are going to stop it and you can do it at any time, border security has nothing at all to do with what is decided about the illegal immigrants that are already here.

What we don't want are leeches on our social system. The illegal immigrants we want to keep are the ones that work, the ones were fighting over, the productive helpful workers.

So the answer is simple: Grant amnesty and issue "Resident Worker" visas to every "illegal immigrant" that is valid for one year. Make renewal of this visa contingent on employment with deportation the consequence for failing to renew. This solution should appease everyone with a legitimate concern.