Opinion & Commentary:
Should we support unrestricted immigration?
No, we should not!
By Martin M. Laibow
Feb. 29, 2008

From the very beginning of this country, the strength, vigor, and dreams of countless immigrants have opened the prairies, broken the sod, made the steel, built the railroads and made this nation the envy of the entire world.

Yet with minor exceptions, every immigrant, no matter the place of origin or the conditions of his homeland, came here legally. They came with zeal to be assimilated into this great Melting Pot, holding to their former allegiances, languages, and cultures as ethnic memories but submerging them in the overall American culture. Their great desire was to act, feel, be American!

This is not the case with the latest wave of immigrants illegally inundating our shores and our defenses. These refugees from harsh economic climates seem to be obdurate in their desire to be temporary workers, able to work a short time, send money home to their native villages and, at will (their will, not ours) return to their native lands having contributed nothing to this country except to the bottom lines of their (often) corporate employers.

In the meantime, the escalating costs of educating their children, giving the immigrants health care, feeding them when they may be temporarily laid off and dealing with the inevitable hard crimes they commit upon their fellow immigrants and American citizens alike are imposing strains upon government budgets at all local levels.

This cannot be a blanket indictment, of course, because some of the illegals are sincere in their desire to stay, to work as previous generations have done, to lose their identification as hyphenated Americans and enter wholeheartedly into the American dream. These relatively few may find some path to eventual citizenship by purging themselves of their crime of illegal entry. They, however, are not the real problem.

The number of illegal immigrants from Mexico, and Central and Latin America is estimated somewhere between 12 million and 20 million men, women, and children, or variously from 4 to 6.7 percent of the total population of the United States.

What shall we do about this Third World intrusion into our first World?

This is not a simple linear problem to be solved by "throwing out the bums!" It is complex because it involves human beings, international politics, domestic government budgets, global economics, and cultural and religious clashes.

Here’s how:

First, the illegals presently in this country: They are here because a) they can make more in one day than in a week in their native countries, b) they work here for as little as their employers can get away with, c) their social needs are picked up by the American taxpayers and d) they represent a source of genuine collateral tax-free income to a whole class of landlords and other often unsavory exploiters. The solution is relatively simple: Have the Social Security Administration create a uniform, national, tamperproof, uncounterfeitable identification card to be issued to every holder of a social security number. Current technology, using retinal (not photographic) identification would be required of every individual applying for employment, medical treatment, sending money overseas, or engaging in any other social or economic form of life in this country.

Arguments against such an intrusion of privacy, "racial profiling," and the like must be met with the clear understanding that citizenship and residency in this country are privileges, just as driver’s licenses issued by the various states are privileges -- not rights. Also, Hispanic organizations, long the champions of illegals because of their common Hispanic heritage, should be made important partners in the search for those who have despoiled the image of the Hispanic in this country.

Second, all employers of immigrant labor -- from the small local landscaper to the multinational global manufacturer -- must furnish a bond of at least $50,000 per employee to be forfeited in every case of the unlawful employment of an illegal immigrant.

Third, and perhaps most important of all, the nonsense of a physical barrier on our southern border is just as stupid and unrealistic as hanging a mesh curtain and pretending it is made of projectile-proof armor plate.

The permanent solution to immigration from the nations to our south was created in the 19th century by our chauvinistic ancestors, frightened by the flood of starving Irish peasants in search of food. A number of Ports of Entry (POE) were created at the major ports of sailing and teamship lines where the immigrants were quickly processed, checked, and either turned loose on the streets of the port cities or return to the countries from which they had sailed. Of all these POEs, probably the best known is New York’s Ellis Island. Other POEs included Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

The stretch of the Rio Grande River border between the United States and Mexico is roughly 200 miles. Establish five POEs in the states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas with river crossings by (existing) bridges or new ferry lines. On the Mexican side, the United States will pay for construction, staffing, and maintenance of Immigrant Staging Areas, where prospective immigrants to the U.S. will be assembled, checked for obvious health concerns and previous criminal records. Those who pass the early tests will be transported across the river to buildings staffed by the Border Patrol who will further check the prospective immigrants for health, past records and such other conditions as may be required. Volunteer interpreters will assist the Border Patrol people in their interrogation. Also at each of these sites will be representatives of the Hispanic organizations in this country and representatives of prospective employers of the immigrants and other interested parties.

Each immigrant will leave the POE with a job, a place to stay and an understanding of what is expected of him/her. Each will be given a temporary identification card and a Social Security Number valid for only a specific term of months. At the end of that time the immigrant must appear before a Homeland Security board to verify his employment status and his lack of criminal record.

The specific Hispanic organization which had assumed responsibility for him will be at this hearing to a) accept further responsibility for him or b) refuse to be responsible any longer and recommend his deportation to his land of origin.

The Hispanic organizations must be given further duties as regards the undocumented immigrants and their families already in this country. They must accept (and pay for) the responsibility of contacting each of these illegals and sending them back to their native countries, from which they can join the lines of would-be immigrants to the U.S. at the border staging points noted above. Their past illegal status will not be held against them in any way if no criminal convictions are involved.

Illegals who refuse to go willingly to re-enter this country will cause their employers to forfeit the $50,000 bond for each employee and will subject themselves to immediate prosecution as criminal trespassers, subject on conviction to permanent deportation after having served their prison terms.

Draconian? Yes.

Necessary? Yes.

Practical? Yes.

Past experience with literally millions of immigrants has shown that, given the opportunity, the hope, the motivation, that even the most illiterate peasantry of the most backward countries will become valued, prosperous, and thoroughly decent citizens of this great nation, upholding with fervor and pride their national heritage yet also upholding with equal fervor and pride their dedication to being American!

I am completely against every illegal immigrant, but I am completely for every "legal " immigrant to our country to once again renew our dedication to hard work, savings, and an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.

Martin M. Laibow of Naples, Florida is an architect, landscape painter, author and social critic.