Border Security in Arizona: A Legal and Reliabel Labor Force
By Joe Sigg, Arizona Farm Bureau Government Relations Director
This immigration issue has become a whopper. The depth of feeling and rhetoric on all sides is out of proportion to the problems that exist. Perhaps we are arguing too many things and should first work on areas of agreement. Perhaps we need to reach some consensus and take it from there.
Do we need to regulate our borders, and the comings and goings across it? Of course. Is our immigration system broken? Do we need documents that are not susceptible to fraud? Do we need reliable and timely methods of verification at the point of employment? Is it important for people to learn to speak English? Do we need respect for law? I think the answer to all of these questions is “yes.” Can we agree?
And before we move on, because of the failures of the federal government, over a long period of time, working on these areas is going to cost a lot of yours and my tax dollars. There is no way around it. And while we are on this subject, can the states have some of our federal tax dollars returned to us for all of those federal mandates on us for dealing with immigration? I don’t have to call for agreement on this!
Perhaps we cannot agree that, on balance, those not work authorized are creating jobs for everyone else – not taking them. Perhaps, we cannot agree that if the economy simply pays more we will create availability for jobs. Since we cannot agree, let’s put these issues aside for the moment.
We should be able to agree on the need for a legal and reliable labor force. At the same time, we have a practical problem of at least 12 million or more undocumented persons in this country, and we need to address it. It is a shame the federal government has allowed this to happen, but there it is. And by the way, immigration, both legal and illegal, is a worldwide phenomenon. It is not an issue unique to the United States. The question is what are we going to do about it?
My first response is we have created this problem over a generation and it may well take that long to work through it. Please remember, we are in the midst of an issue, we have not worked through it, and it is now we feel the most consequences, some exaggerated and some not.
We can attempt massive deportation. It would be costly in dollars, human terms and perhaps permanent loss of our nation’s view as that shining light on a hill. We can attempt passive deportation – making it uncomfortable for people and have them remove themselves. If you believe in security, as I do, we need a system for people to come forward, not drive them further underground. Moreover, I have some sensibilities for human beings. I believe in measured justice – a response proportional to the crime, After all, we have a system of pardons, commutations and parole for less heinous crimes than coming to this country without proper documentation. Law enforcement on such a scale needs cooperation, not confrontation.
There are legal pathways to citizenship. I think we need to retain them. At this time, there cannot be agreement as to any sort of mass forgiveness on this issue. My general solution is a comprehensive and fully integrated approach to the problem, addressing our points of agreement. My specific solution is: if you are here illegally and have not committed a crime, we will offer you a visa that allows you to work and transit. The visa would be offered with various conditions and sanctions and have renewable conditions as well. This visa cannot be any sort of pathway to citizenship.
I wish I could fit this on a bumper sticker, but I can’t, but please consider it. We must have agreement on some things, so we can debate some reasonable and measured solutions. I have offered one. What is yours?
Key words: Border security in Arizona; immigration reform in Arizona.
