Thursday, January 03, 2019

Illegal immigration, the shutdown, and the wall

So we now have a government shutdown over funding for repairs and construction of new physical barriers along our southern border.  As full disclosure, my wife is a currently furloughed employee and she is anxious to return to work.  But she is 100% behind the shutdown!  And so am I.  

There are estimates that 5-6% of the population of the US workforce is made up of illegal aliens.  Could be more than 10 million overall.  They work for lower wages and benefits in jobs that, some say, Americans won't do.  That may or may not be true.  I propose a "light" green card program that is funded by those who benefit from it.  Let's call it "DACIE".  Deferred Action for Illegal Entry.

"DACIE" should have a grace period, where if you are in the US illegally, you must come forward, submit a biometric sample including DNA (this is already a requirement for naturalization), and prove that you are gainfully employed or have means to support yourself and your family without public assistance. Anyone that is in this program will not be eligible for ANY taxpayer supported public assistance, state OR federal and agrees to this as a condition. If you apply for any public assistance, you are automatically ineligible for this program.  If you have overstayed your visa, that shows you have financial ability to pay and will be required to pay a fine for that before you are allowed into the program. If you fail to do this within the grace period, lets say 18 months, there is NO wiggle room. If you do NOT comply with the requirements, you are subject to deportation at any time. If you are arrested, you WILL be deported IMMEDIATELY. Members of the US military, or students making progress to a college degree will be exempt from the financial guidelines, but still must submit biometric and DNA samples.  Any past felony convictions are AUTOMATICALLY disqualified, and future felony convictions will immediately disqualify the applicant and agree to the condition that they be subject to immediate deportation as soon as their jail term is completed. 

 All employers are also required to comply with e-verify and ANY employer who has employees that are currently in this group MUST provide proof that payroll taxes and SS/Medicare taxes are being withheld and certifies that they will be withheld in the future. For social security purposes, their employment starts when they have their first withholding and they will then be subject to the same rules as EVERYBODY else. In addition, a new withholding, FOR THIS GROUP ONLY equal to the current Medicare tax will be created to finance the cost of this program. 
When they are granted citizenship, the new withholding in the paragraph above is ended!  If they choose to not become an American citizen, they will continue paying this tax. Any employer who doesn’t comply will be subject to large fines and/or jail. 


All members of this group will be submitted to 
USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and there will be NO FEE WAIVERS for this group or exceptions from taking the civics or English language tests.  


The MOST important part of this program is the addition of a poison pill. If any court finds any part of this program to be illegal or unconstitutional, ALL parts of the program are defunct and all participants are subject to existing immigration laws and may be subject to immediate deportation.

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