timbalint, could you elaborate on your meaning?

I too would like to see some path of citizenship coupled with a guest worker program.

I would make a one-time offer to illegals to come out of the shadows, pay a fine (pegged to back taxes), and begin the naturalization process (which would include learning English). Those who do not participate would be subject to deportation. Those who start the program must finish it with a given period of time, or face deportation as well.

A guest worker visa should be created. This would be a six to eight month visa specifically for manual labor or other low wage jobs. Participants would be given an ID number so as to be counted by the government and taxed on their wages. Also, there would be a maximum number of times a single individual could use the program. So as to encourage permanent migration.

In addition, sanctions need to be tough against employers who continue to heir people who are not taking advantage of either of the new programs. For employers currently employing illegals, they would have to pay a fine (pegged to back taxes) and be put on a probationary period.

The revenue created by these fines would go to the costs of implementing these new programs.

That way we could deal with some of the issues brought up about food prices and ag jobs. As well as stem the tide of undocumented, illegal immigration.

I also support a tamper-proof ID card so that those in the country not taking the steps to attain citizenship, or taking part in the guest-worker program, could be easily found.

I would make this a public/private partnership. Giving the task of creating and tracking ID cards and numbers to the major credit card companies in a special joint venture. The government on the other hand would have to bolster the number of employees at INS to handle the increased work-load. Also, coalitions of employers need to be created to monitor hiring practices.

There exists the political will and the wherewithal to create such a comprehensive program. We just need a leader in Congress and the in the White House to do it.

Sorry for the length, just trying to be heavy on specifics…

As far as our prior discussion, donald, I’m genuinely sorry it’s taken me forever and a day to get back, I’ve been swamped with work. Here we go…

I’m sorry, but America is kind of a city on a hill, and we’ve guaranteed that by solidifying our global empire to the point of a stranglehold. We go to other countries and try to force them to be like less powerful, totally dependant little versions of us, because our way is apparently the best way. But that’s another issue entirely (maybe the subject of a future round of discussion, moderator? ).

You mention crime, drugs, trafficking and gangs. I don’t know much about human trafficking, but I’m sure if you looked into it you’d find just as many white, full blooded American citizens taking part in it as any other immigrant demographic.

I do, however, know a lot of drug dealers and generally unsavory characters, and I’ll concede that a good half of them are the children or relatives of families who immigrated illegally. Only, here’s an interesting fact, at least from my experience: the white American kids with flags on their garage doors in the suburbs are the ones peddling cocaine, crystal meth and oxycontin instead of marijuana and hash, because their families tend to have more money for them to waste. So there you go, a gross generalization in exchange for a gross generalization. Do with it what you will.