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LOUISA VIRGINIA
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Home| About Us| Background | Related Links | Issues | Events | |
LOUISA VIRGINIA
The Problem:
We have somewhere between 10 to 20 Million undocumented people floating around our country with little or nothing being done about it. Fortunately, most of them are hard working, otherwise law-abiding, illegal aliens who came here in search of a dream not available in their home countries. It is absolutely absurd in this era of international terrorism not to have better control of these people.
Background:
Immigration reform has been tried before. Amnesty was granted to illegal aliens but than poor follow up steps to control the situation were taken. This only made matters worse. Furthermore, little action was taken to discourage businesses from hiring undocumented workers. In fact, these businesses set up "special interest" lobbyists to discourage reasonable follow-up legislation.
As a result, even more people were encouraged to enter this country illegally because the chance of getting caught was so slim that it warranted the risk. Building a wall has never worked and in my opinion, never will. We have spent Gazillions over the years to build walls and enhance border security = all to no avail. A more effective way to reduce illegal immigration would be to make it very risky and very painful if you get caught.
The Solution:
In my view, comprehensive reform dealing with the TOTAL immigration issue must be enacted. One major compromise that I feel might help resolve this issue is to provide "legal status" to current undocumented immigrants but not provide an "automatic" path to citizenship. Their first step to "legalization" would be to make it required that they be "documented." There could be ways these immigrants could "earn" a path to citizenship through processes like those proposed in the "Dream Act." Additional legislation should be enacted that gives them a limited time for registration and that anyone not restrated after that time period would be subject to automatic deportation.
In my view, the single most effective tool we implement to solve the illegal immigration problem would be to establish a national ID Card System. All people in America should be required to have a National ID Card. For people born here it would be a requirement that they provide a retina scans and a DNA sample at birth and at that time they will be issued an ID Card. All people currently hold drivers licenses or state issued ID cards would have three years to transition to a National ID Card, providing retina scans and DNA samples in the process. Everyone coming to this country either, on a temporary visa or as an immigrant, would be issued an appropriate ID Card again certified with a retina scan and DNA sample. All undocumented immigrants would also be required to register, provide a retina scan and DNA sample and they would get a National ID card. This might seem rather drastic to some people but lets face it, a National ID Card will come to us sooner or later so we might as well get started on it now. To hold a job, to attend school or for just about everything, presentation of this National ID would be required.
This kind of National ID System would resolve most of our illegal immigration problems as well as provide law enforcement a valuable tool to help solve crime and find fugitives. Privacy advocates have long shunned such a National ID System lest it provide "Big Brother" unwarranted insight into our daily lives. To them I say. "Folks, Big Brother is currently not only into your daily lives but into your knickers as well. Big Brother today know more about us than we know about ourselves. As such, we already have the negative aspects of a National ID Card. We might as well get used to the idea and allow the beneficial aspects of it help resolve some of the problems that such a system would. In developing legislation to require such a National ID System, some safeguards could have to be built in to protect privacy rights and to prevent forgery.