Frederick News-Post: What to do about illegal immigration

Don Kornreich
What to do about illegal immigration
Originally published June 01, 2008

My last column concerned the constraints our federal system places on state and local governments in dealing with illegal immigration. The following points address some of the things that I believe should be done about illegal immigration.

Elect a president and a Congress dedicated to resolving illegal immigration issues. Without the federal government being willing to effectively deal with these matters, the burdens that state and local governments are facing today will only worsen.

As a first priority, our national leaders must close our borders to the influx of illegal immigrants. Continuing the present rather spotty enforcement of our borders against illegal entry will not deter people bent on harming our nation — including those dedicated to committing acts of terrorism, and those who conduct criminal activities such as drug trafficking.

The criminality that now applies to persons illegally seeking to enter the United States should be prospectively extended to cover: (a) illegal immigrants who are already in the country -- at present successful illegal entry is merely a civil violation not a crime; and (b) immigrants who come here legally, but overstay their visas or other authorizations.

Congress should enact legislation to prospectively deny United States citizenship to children born of illegal immigrants. In my opinion, such denial would be justified both on 14th Amendment jurisdictional grounds and as an extension of criminalizing the status of persons who enter the country illegally. Thus, illegal immigrants would no longer be able to attain citizenship for children born here; nor, as a result of their children acquiring citizenship, obtain various collateral benefits for themselves.

Benefits available to illegal immigrants should be redefined and strictly limited. The fewer benefits available the less attractive it will be for illegal immigrants to remain here.

If it is determined that our in-country workforce needs to be supplemented, the federal government should increase the number of immigrants who can legally work in the United States. The legal entry of new immigrant workers and the retention (based on such factors as no violent criminal record, current employment and demonstrated self-sufficiency) of certain illegal immigrant workers should be carried out under a federal work sponsorship program pursuant to which employers sponsor these workers.

Immigrant workers who violate their work sponsorship agreements should be deported. Sponsors of those workers who violate the agreement should be subject to civil penalties. In effect, employers seeking to profit from the labor of sponsored immigrant workers would be held accountable for these workers.

n Employers who hire non-sponsored illegal immigrants should be criminally prosecuted for aiding and abetting such immigrants.

We should facilitate the teaching of English to immigrants. People who speak the same language are more likely to effectively communicate with and better understand each other, rather than becoming isolated and alienated from one another. Speaking a common language will strengthen our nation and its diverse, multicultural population. Fostering non-English speaking immigrant enclaves within our communities will only Balkanize and weaken our nation.

Driver's licenses (and similar privileges) should be issued only to immigrants with legal status.

Instituting these measures would resolve many of the problems associated with illegal immigration; and stem the tide of societal, economic and political tensions which will continue to rise if the flow of illegal immigrants into the country is not stopped and the large illegal population already here is not effectively dealt with.