Symptoms and Causes

Georgia is the most recent state to pass legislation aimed at fighting illegal immigration's effects within their borders. There's been a lot of crying and gnashing of teeth from civil rights groups and people who simply like the cheap labor that illegals provide, but their arguments all ignore the underlying fact that the people who came here illegally are, by law, criminals. You can spout "no one is illegal" or whatever catchy slogan you like, but the fact is that there are legal means of coming into this country, and if you enter another way, you're an illegal alien.

That being said, I must say that while I support the basic ideas behind the recent laws, I don't think this is the right way to go about solving the problem. The reason why is simple. Illegal immigration is a symptom. You don't solve anything by treating symptoms. The only way to solve the problem is to find a cure for the cause.

In this case, the cause is not people who come across the border illegally looking for work. The cause is EMPLOYERS who break the law and provide opportunities for these illegals. The argument is always that no Americans will do the kind of work the illegals do. The truth is they won't do those jobs at the cut rate pay and conditions that employers can get by with when dealing with illegals. If everyone's on a level playing field, you'll find legal workers for those jobs.

So what would I do? First, I would expand legal guest worker programs. Nothing wrong with having migrant workers come in and do a temporary job such as picking fruit, and then moving on when the season's over. I'd even be agreeable to allowing immigrants to serve in the military, and be granted citizenship after a six year tour. (There's actually precedent for that, when the Irish were coming over.)

But the main thing I would do is crack down on the people who employ illegals, drastically stepping up enforcement and penalties to the employers. To start with, the penalty for employing illegals would be a fine of $1 Million, loss of your business license, and forfeiture of the property involved. And then your name, face, and biographical information would be put in a database of known employers of illegals that would be distributed to every police department and licensing bureau in the United States. The intent is nothing more or less than to ruin every employer of illegal immigrants in the United States.

If this sounds draconian and harsh, that is because it is, and is meant to be. The simple fact is that half-measures won't solve the problem. This isn't something you can take a couple aspirin for and call in the morning. For a problem this entrenched, you need major chemotherapy.