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Austhus said 02/20, 09:18 AM
Illegal immigrants come to this country because there are thousands of employers willing to hire them. Work is relatively scarce in their home countries (not just Mexico) and they see America as the Land of Opportunity.

Deportation of these workers is not an option, as it will cripple the economy beyond any recession we've yet seen. However, total amnesty for these people is also not an option. After all, they did break the law.

We should instead focus on sealing the border with a variety of technologies we currently have, while focusing on enforcing our current laws on employer abuse of these employees. Fines should be increased dramatically, so employers can no longer write off ICE fines as "costs of doing business."

Finally, current illegal immigrants who have family in the country and can prove residency for more than 1 year will be allowed to stay under a guest worker program, under the conditions that they pay back-taxes and fines per person in the household. They will be given 6 months to register for this program. Any undocumented workers found after this time will be deported, as to encourage enrollment.

Austhus said 02/20, 12:53 PM
We don't need a "Great Wall of America," although, if you read above, I do propose sealing the border as effectively as we can using technology.

Meanwhile, you really don't address many of my points. I will not be brought into debate Ramos and Campean's fate; that's an entirely separate political issue I won't touch with a 10-foot pole.

As for my guest-worker program, there really aren't enough people to work the jobs we have. It would be difficult to replace more than 14 million illegal immigrants with American labor; our unemployment rates are not that high.

I do, however, want to give Americans the right to compete with the immigrant population. By requiring all of these immigrants to register for the guest-worker program, we can force employers to pay these people a fair wage equal to that of the native worker. By eliminating the financial advantage of hiring an "illegal" workforce, Americans will be able to compete for jobs while allowing these guest workers to continue contributing to the U.S. economy.

Also to reiterate quickly, any employer caught in violation of these terms, either hiring illegal labor or underpaying workers, will be SEVERELY fined.