Cart before the horse

It seems that Congress has gotten the cart before the horse when dealing with immigration legislation. It is understood this is an election year and immigration is a hot-button issue. So everyone, including the president, has been rushing to discuss "immigration reform." And, everyone has a different plan.

It seems that much of the debate is over the millions of immigrants who are already in the U.S. illegally. The problem is, granting amnesty or not, should be one of the last steps in immigration reform.

The United States needs a total overhaul of their immigration policy but first things first. We need to change the way the country deals with the issue.

It is a bit like trying to keep flies away from a pile of manure. Do a good job of manure management and the fly problem is much easier to handle.

In the same way, if the U.S. can fix some of the loopholes that allow the country to be inundated by immigrants, perhaps the issue won't be so overwhelming.

First, improve border security. The issue has not been a priority, but it needs to be. Controlling legal immigrants overstaying their welcome is difficult. Keeping people from crossing a line shouldn't be. Over half of all illegal immigrants get here by sneaking across the border. It's the first and most obvious way to alleviate part of the immigration problem, with the added benefit of better homeland security.

Second, enforce the current law. Too many times, illegal immigrants are caught and released because the resources aren't there to process them. Programs identifying duplicate social security numbers and false documents should be required.

Third, reform social services. Easier said than done, but it is related and just as serious of an issue. Social services are a critical safety net when citizens are in need. But it has become all too easy for people to take advantage of them. Reform would encourage U.S. citizens to work, reduce the need for immigrant workers and curb the abuse of the social service system.

There's a need for other changes too. The path to citizenship should be less complicated, but not easy. Worker eligibility and identification should be simplified, perhaps with a national ID card.

And, then, we can decide how to handle the millions of immigrants who are already here. Organizing reform in that order gains less political capital for politicians but it is the right way to tackle this problem.

Holly Martin can be reached by phone at 1-800-452-7171 ext. 1806 or e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com.

Date: 7/19/06

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