U.S. needs fair and enforceable immigration policy
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
There are rumors going around that undocumented immigrants living in Camden and neighboring areas are making plans to move to New York State. The reason is that legislators in New York are considering granting drivers' licenses to those without authorization to remain in this country.
Regardless of the real application of such a measure, many people who are thinking of turning in that direction are being moved by a mere illusion. In the darkened crevices where undocumented immigrants live, they tend to get excited by any hint of light, even if it may be weak or illusory. This excitement turns into disappointment and deception time and time again. Several renowned lawyers, including columnists Manfred Rosenow and Beverly Black, consistently warn about unscrupulous notaries and lawyers who make personal profit from rumors, irrelevant measures and press releases about planned reforms. These people use the deceit of these projects to **** dry those who grab onto any remote or unreal possibility to normalize their situation.
In a word
To this point, I have not deliberately used the words "undocumented" and "illegal" to refer to those who do not have papers to remain in this country. There has been a long debate regarding the use of these terms. Rosenow made clear the meanings of these two words in a recent column about American immigration law. According to Rosenow, any foreigner who enters this country with a visa or permit from the American government and stays in the country longer than the allotted time becomes illegal. In contrast, those who enter the United States without authorization are called undocumented. There are substantial legal differences between each status.
For example, illegal immigrants can request American citizenship through immediate relatives, such as a spouse. Undocumented immigrants cannot do this. Illegal and undocumented immigrants belong to the same group, exposed to persecution and legal judgment, and even mistreatment by those who feel aversion toward foreigners, particularly the poor. Ironically, more than a few will benefit and profit in the United States from this group of people.
It is well-known that existing laws are not integrated into a consistent and modern societal system, which impedes authorities from doing their job efficiently. Millions of dollars are spent persecuting illegal and undocumented immigrants, but the number does not decrease. On the contrary, data seem to indicate the numbers increase daily.
Does this mean immigration authorities are negligent? No. Simply put, the immigration problem is out of control. The existing legal chaos not only makes the work of authorities inefficient, but foreigners also lack the means to defend their legal and human rights.
Illegal and undocumented immigrants belong to an army of wage-earners who work millions of hours daily. Yet, without a legal status, the vast majority earns low salaries while working shameful schedules under humiliating conditions.
Many of these workers are making contributions to social security, but have no right to claim them later in life. They lack medical insurance, cannot attend college, obtain a mortgage or aspire to retirement.
Landlords usually charge them higher rents and do not maintain their buildings, which become inadequate and dangerous.
Frequently, as it happens in Camden, criminals feed on this group, turning them into their favorite crime victims. They are prime targets for assaults, given that without a bank account or private places to keep their valuables safe, undocumented and illegal immigrants carry with them everything they earn. Besides, they usually do not dare to seek protection from authorities for fear of deportation.
No panacea
I think this calamitous situation cannot be solved with states granting drivers' licenses. A driver's license does not make a person less illegal or undocumented. In other words, they will continue to be the target of immigration authorities and abusers. A driver's license is one of the most important legal documents in the United States, becoming a personal identification card by default. It is reliable because strict requirements must be met before application. If the driver's license is to continue to be a reliable document, these requirements must continue to be met.
What the country urgently needs is a deep, comprehensive, consistent and fair immigration law. This reform should not lead us to new forms of inequality under the law. If American citizens and legal residents have to meet strict requirements to obtain a driver's license and others do not, a form of discrimination is being established. This type of discrimination is not positive, just as affirmative action for college education is not positive. This type of discrimination is not only unfair, but also discourages personal effort, thus promoting mediocrity.
What minorities really need, particularly immigrants, are opportunities, but they must also realize their personal fight is needed to gain equality and success in life.
Is this difficult? Of course it is, but it is the only way.
When I talk about seeking immigration laws that are fair and adequate for these times, I am not saying these measures should only suit the needs of illegal and undocumented immigrants, but they should not violate their fundamental rights either.
The value of the euro is making Europe a desirable relocation for many immigrants nowadays. However, experts claim the United States will continue to be for a long time the most appealing emigration target in the world. It is time for migration movements to be part of the priorities in discussions under the globalization framework. The United States should begin by exercising its worldwide leadership in this area so the subject is addressed urgently.
This country must implement truly serious measures that are effective, fair and do not carry the seeds of hate. Only this will bring order to the land.
The writer is a columnist for the Courier-Post. His column appears on Wednesdays.
illegal aliens (or "undocumented" for you pansies) have NO right to be in the US of A...none...and the idea of 'fair immigration reform' always seems to lead back to rewarding those who have shown ZERO respect for our laws from the moment they set foot in this country...fair? to whom? to the untold thousands who are waiting their turn to immigrate and/or work/study legally in the US? How is it 'fair' to grant any form of relief to illegals? Dole them out a green card because they find a village idiot on the loose? Sorry....I say give 'em all a year to leave, face a 2 year bar to readmission, and thereafter they can apply for (and qualify for, in every respect) some kind of visa...and for those who don't take this opportunity, well,they (fairly, I might add) become deportable FELONS, subject to immediate deportation when they cross paths with any authority, and then barred forever from legally entering the US of A...that's 'fair'
Originally posted by susie: I agree with the contents of you post, are you the author ?
No, Susie, I'm not the author. I saw this article yesterday and thought it was worthy of posting. I truly agree with "This country must implement truly serious measures that are effective, fair and do not carry the seeds of hate. Only this will bring order to the land". I believe it is imperative that all humans be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, status, religion affiliation, etc. I believe this article brought home some of these points.
illegal aliens (or "undocumented" for you pansies) have NO right to be in the US of A...none...
You know, S12, you say you have a very high IQ, but you still don't get it. The illegal aliens are HERE! Face it. There's no way our government has the capacity to round up and deport 12 - 20M people. It's inconceivable. Rather than focusing on the impossible, isn't it more practical to find humane solutions to deal with the situation? All of your rants and tirades do nothing more than expose the hatred and intolerance you are carrying within. Hatred does nothing more than breed contempt. It has never solved anything.
Rant on, S12. It's a free country, after all. If you get satisfaction out of coming here and bullying people, then your high IQ is being wasted and your words are falling on deaf ears.
What the country urgently needs is a deep, comprehensive, consistent and fair immigration law. This reform should not lead us to new forms of inequality under the law. If American citizens and legal residents have to meet strict requirements to obtain a driver's license and others do not, a form of discrimination is being established. This type of discrimination is not positive, just as affirmative action for college education is not positive. This type of discrimination is not only unfair, but also discourages personal effort, thus promoting mediocrity.
What the country urgently needs is a deep, comprehensive, consistent and fair immigration law. This reform should not lead us to new forms of inequality under the law. If American citizens and legal residents have to meet strict requirements to obtain a driver's license and others do not, a form of discrimination is being established. This type of discrimination is not positive, just as affirmative action for college education is not positive. This type of discrimination is not only unfair, but also discourages personal effort, thus promoting mediocrity.
Duh Where do they get these people from
4Now - I guess what you quoted is subject to interpretation, but I took it to mean the discrimination would be against the American citizens, not the immigrants. I believe the author is referencing the now defunct Spitzer plan to give illegal aliens driver's licenses. What he was saying is that would be discriminatory to American citizens who have to abide by strict requirements in order to get one.
There is one error in the letter. It is very possible to deport the entire lot of them. Actually its cheaper in the long run to do that then to legalize them. But that is always the problem. Short sited self serving fixes to a long term problem.
Vote Republican and this country will still be worth sneaking into.
Posts: 4989 | Location: San Antonio TX | Registered: 06-08-2007
Originally posted by davdah: There is one error in the letter. It is very possible to deport the entire lot of them. Actually its cheaper in the long run to do that then to legalize them. But that is always the problem. Short sited self serving fixes to a long term problem.
I disagree that it's possible to deport all of them, Davdah. How can you deport someone when you don't know where they are? Anyway, I'd also be interested in the math related to how it is less expensive to deport them rather than provide a pathway to legalization (considering they will have fines, back taxes, filing fees, etc.).
The military and national guard could be used. It would be very easy to track most of them down. All it would take is some cooperation between the dohs, irs, and couple others.
If you can get the people responsible for the damage to my car (illegals), to my apartment buildings (also illegals) to pay for their mistakes I'd be more than happy to help them all to become legal. Those are the kinds this country doesn't need. People who claim to know construction when they don't. People irresponsible about their driving. If Doc Jose wants to come over, c'mon in. His uneducated drunk brother can stay home.
Vote Republican and this country will still be worth sneaking into.
Posts: 4989 | Location: San Antonio TX | Registered: 06-08-2007
I still disagree about the ease of rounding them up; but, do agree that we probably don't need Doc Jose's drunk brother - lol. We don't need any more undesirables, legal or not, for that matter.
The key is the IRS. The fact is they don't care where tax $ comes from. Employers turn in their quarterly reports with all the names, addresses etc. on them A simple comparison between issued numbers, names , and addresses would show who they are and where they live. I would be willing to bet it has already been done. The Gov folks are not that dumb. Just in case if things go really bad just like the patriot act that popped up out of no where there is a plan in place already.
Vote Republican and this country will still be worth sneaking into.
Posts: 4989 | Location: San Antonio TX | Registered: 06-08-2007
make the illegals deport themselves within a certain time period (like 1 year) at their own expense,,,after all, if they can send $30B a year back to their countries as remittances, they can pony up $500 for an airline ticket...and stop granting waivers when illegals marry some village idiot...in fact, stop granting waivers..period....then there will be NO motivation to marry the VI and start banging out kids.
Originally posted by Someone12: make the illegals deport themselves within a certain time period (like 1 year) at their own expense,,,after all, if they can send $30B a year back to their countries as remittances, they can pony up $500 for an airline ticket...and stop granting waivers when illegals marry some village idiot...in fact, stop granting waivers..period....then there will be NO motivation to marry the VI and start banging out kids.
Originally posted by Someone12: make the illegals deport themselves within a certain time period (like 1 year) at their own expense,,,after all, if they can send $30B a year back to their countries as remittances, they can pony up $500 for an airline ticket...and stop granting waivers when illegals marry some village idiot...in fact, stop granting waivers..period....then there will be NO motivation to marry the VI and start banging out kids.
Any takers? Helloooooo! Silence.
________________________________________________________________________ "Our task now is not to fix the blame for the past, but to fix the course for the future." JFK
Originally posted by Someone12: make the illegals deport themselves within a certain time period (like 1 year) at their own expense,,,after all, if they can send $30B a year back to their countries as remittances, they can pony up $500 for an airline ticket...and stop granting waivers when illegals marry some village idiot...in fact, stop granting waivers..period....then there will be NO motivation to marry the VI and start banging out kids.
See? Do you really think this will be an effective way to deal with the situation? How will our court system be able to handle disposition of these cases? How will DHS be able to monitor all of these self-deportations, S12? And, what about the already overcrowded detention centers? How do you propose to enforce these deportations? They aren't even equipped to enforce the laws that are already on the books. In all practicality, this will not work.
As far as waivers, a process exists to determine whether or not an applicant is eligible for a waiver, right? I remember a post of yours where you said the adjucators rarely get it wrong. So, what's the problem, then? It's easier to take a broad view of things rather than analyzing the individual segments of a problem. But, in order to implement fair and enforceable immigration reform, we need to focus on the pieces of our current laws that are broken.
The key is the IRS. The fact is they don't care where tax $ comes from. Employers turn in their quarterly reports with all the names, addresses etc. on them A simple comparison between issued numbers, names , and addresses would show who they are and where they live. I would be willing to bet it has already been done. The Gov folks are not that dumb. Just in case if things go really bad just like the patriot act that popped up out of no where there is a plan in place already.
This is incorrect. Employers do file quarterly reports, but this is for payment of taxes. Employers only file the W-2's once a year, generally Feb 28 (March 31 if filing electronically). They use the W-3 as the cover sheet along with all the W-2's. If the employer needs to file a corrected W-2, then the employer files the W-2c and the W-3. Payers also file their 1099's with a 1096 form once year, same time as W-2.
Name mismatches are common, but they are more common with USC or legal residents (with over 6 million math error notices for name mismatch on dependents and/or spuoses) than with illegal immigrants who reside in the US. This is because most illegal residents are paid under the table and may file a tax return using an ITIN. Their pay has no withholding and rarely have a income reporting form issued to them. And yes, some do claim identity theft, but that is the exception, not the rule.
The problem with the above proposal is that the IRS has no info on immigration status on W-2 or 1099. Just a TIN, name, address, and the appropiate boxes filled out. The IRS does issue CAWR, which stands for Combined Annual Wage Reporting. The process basically mismatches W-2, gnerally dollor figures from 941's to the W-2's that were filed, including the corrected W-2's. But again, it does not go into name mismatch. Additionally, with a free movement society that we have, it is nearly impossible to determine when those wages were earned. The W-2 has no dates of employment. The only way for the IRS to make that determination is an audit on 941's. That takes time and money while increasing the compliance cost to not only the employer who is being audtied, but for employers that will have a direct impact on the outcome of the audit.
And the IRS is already seing an increase in the misclassification of employees by employers. This is an additional probem the IRS must resolve because compliance costs for employers have risen since 9/11. Most of the time, the increase is a good thing, but it does have some unintended consequences as well. People who propose *****tale dreams like the one I am responding to do not have the full comprehension of how it will affect everyone, not just illegals.
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." John Adams on Defense of the boston Massacre
The military and national guard could be used. It would be very easy to track most of them down. All it would take is some cooperation between the dohs, irs, and couple others.
You will first have to amend the Posse Comitus Act for this to even become a remote possiblity and you will defy Constitutional safegaurds already in place. However, it is not easy. The US has no formal identification document other than the passport. Second, we live in a society that is free to move. You do not need government permission to move from one city to another or one state or another. So, how do you track them. Finally, you will need to go after apartment landlords, businesses, charitable orgainizations, and individuals, charge them with breaking the laws, like aiding and abeting, and use tactics that the GRU or the Gestapo used. This defies law and order to the very core and it shows a lack of moral, ethical, legal, Constitutional, and Honorable character to suggest such a mo
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