The Elusive Immigration Fix
By Patrick O'Malley November 16, 2009Region: Africa
Topics: National Preparedness, Emerging Threats
Depending on the source, the estimated number of illegal immigrants residing in the United States varies somewhere between 10 million and 20 million. What is known for certain is that this number is a fluctuating one and that no one is actually counting. Both the contributions and the strains that illegal immigrants place on the communities in which they live are also difficult to calculate and have been widely debated. The immigration laws of the United States have been tweaked throughout recent administrations to accommodate public appeal and changing geopolitical circumstances. Yet in recent history, the U.S. government has not addressed the immigration issue with anything that resembles a comprehensive policy. Is this because no administration has been strong enough or had enough congressional support to come up with an overhaul that could be enacted into law? The answer to this question is not as clear cut as many would think.
Immigration is a large and complex issue for an equally large and complex country like the U.S. In contrast, it is doubtful there would be much debate over immigration policy in a country where emigration rather than immigration is a concern, such as Ecuador. However, the U.S., unlike Ecuador or most other counties for that matter, has always been a destination for migrants seeking such things as economic improvement, educational opportunities, social justice and more. There are few issues that can be addressed with simple and clear solutions in the U.S. because this country has a complex patchwork of problems which cannot simply be swept away by enacting new laws. Immigration is no different. Those wishing to see large-scale deportations aimed at ridding the U.S. of all of those residing here illegally are ignoring the logistics and costs of such measures. Furthermore, how would we address the hundreds of thousands of immigrants already here with pending applications held up in our convoluted and overburdened Citizenship and Immigration Service?
Those at the other end of the spectrum wishing to legalize those who are already here illegally are also misguided in their approach to the issue. A large-scale legalization would make a mockery of the existing laws of this country and create some major logistical and security concerns. How do we conduct background checks on upwards of 20 million people? Also, what do we do with the countless numbers of those who have already been deported and have returned for the second, third or fourth time? Do they also deserve immunity? If large-scale deportations or legalizations are prohibitive, what is the answer to solving the illegal immigration problem we currently have? I think the answer is similar to questions such as how do we end hunger, stop illegal drug use or stomp out all inner city violence. The reality is that there may not be a clear cut answer to our illegal immigration problem. However, like ending hunger, substance abuse and urban violence we can never cease seeking answers and trying to find solutions because these are problems that can not be ignored. Although searching for a large-scale immigration overhaul that will quickly reduce the illegal immigrant population may not be feasible, there are certain common sense options available to our elected and appointed officials. With the political will and proper allocation of government resources these options could be employed immediately:
1. Enhance Border Security. No attempt to address the illegal immigrant problem can be taken seriously without making the border the number one priority. Our president should avoid rhetoric and patchwork solutions to border enforcement such as sending the National Guard to patrol the southern border. While sending the National Guard sounds great and allows the president to put on a good show for the media and the American people, the National Guard is not professionally trained in the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws. Nor would the National Guard be fit to track down, investigate and dismantle the drug and human smuggling organizations operating along the border. Instead, we need to allocate more Homeland Security resources to the southern border. The number of Border Patrol Agents should continue to increase each year until they are capable of adequately patrolling the vast southern border. Additionally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and officers should be sent directly to the Border States following their training academy. While illegal immigration is an issue in every state, newly trained ICE agents and officers would better serve the mission of stemming the tide of illegal immigration and narcotics smuggling if they were assigned to the southern border for their first year or two before they are given the option of choosing where they wish to work or where they are needed most. Although our northern border is also porous and poses serious security threats to our country as illegal narcotics and foreign nationals are also smuggled through, realistically, our southern border should be the priority and our primary focus at this time.
2. Enhance Existing Immigration Laws and Programs. Contrary to what some pundits espouse, current immigration law is neither toothless nor irrelevant. Our system of immigration laws can be found in the Immigration and Nationality Act or INA. The INA was established in1952 and serves as the basic body of immigration law for this country. The INA clearly (and sometimes not so clearly) lays out how to deal with the complex array of immigrants and non-immigrants or those who are mainly visitors and those here on visas. It is not that the INA is ineffectual, rather the problem is that there are not enough personnel to enforce it at all levels from file adjudicators to fugitive squads. The INA does not need to be completely scrapped; it just needs to be taken more seriously at both the enforcement and the judicial levels. However, if the INA is more strictly enforced and more illegal immigrants are arrested, this means increased stress on an already overburdened system of adjudications, immigration courts and jails. If we are to truly enforce the INA, we will need the appropriate resources and the political will to earmark these resources; no easy task in any political environment.
3. Enhance 287(g). In 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act added additional sections of law to the INA. One of these additions is known as “287(g)” which authorizes what is now Homeland Security to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies and designate certain officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions. One of the caveats of 287(g) was that these designated state and local police officers who would be allowed to enforce immigration laws must be properly trained by sworn federal immigration officers. Essentially, 287(g) was designed to give federal immigration enforcement a boost in the field.
Police officers throughout the country encounter illegal immigrants during their daily routines not just along the southern border but in far flung places such as Lewiston, Maine and Schuyler, Nebraska. Yet illegal immigration is still commonly referred to as a federal problem and, as a result, a federal failure. However, it is a national problem that is best dealt with by enacting and following through with laws and programs, like 287(g), that could significantly reduce the number of illegal immigrants already here. By allowing more state and local law enforcement officers the power to enforce immigration law, the country as a whole benefits. For instance, state and local law enforcement officers could assist in the apprehension and deportation of aggravated felon illegal aliens; in effect, reducing the illegal immigrant population and riding the streets of criminals. Some argue that 287(g) only alienates immigrant populations by creating an environment of fear where immigrants are afraid to report crime to the police for fear of being arrested and deported themselves. This type of rhetoric does little more than pander to certain constituencies and malign the entire 287(g) program by unfairly labeling it as racial profiling. And to those who think that 287(g) should be scrapped because of this fear, perhaps we could institute a victim protection program where victims of crime would not have to report their immigration status thereby assuaging the fear of crimes going unreported. This simple step would also appease those who herald an uninformed outcry against 287(g). I would argue that it is likely that only the immigrants residing here illegally who would fear being arrested and deported if encountered by the police. Is the discomfort and mistrust of the illegal immigrant population so important that our law enforcement officers should be denied a valuable tool in policing our communities?
Federal authorities, namely ICE, cannot possibly enforce the immigration laws alone and should not solely take the blame for increasing numbers of illegal immigrants in our communities. The numbers of ICE officers and agents enforcing immigration (and customs) laws are small in comparison to the illegal immigrant population. Furthermore, ICE’s function should be to focus on investigating and dismantling criminal organizations that penetrate our borders. ICE should be focused on arresting violent felons and the most egregious violators of immigration and customs laws not chasing landscaping trucks or restaurant workers.
These are only three suggestions that do not necessarily involve a comprehensive overhaul but do employ common sense and call for the allocation and/or re-allocation of significant resources. As with all governmental programs, resources and political will are the key ingredients to taming our vast borders and reining in our immigration system which has lost control of who has arrived and settled in our country. Before effectively squashing legitimate debate by labeling these aforementioned suggestions as xenophobic, draconian or racist, I would hope that those seeking less immigration restrictions would take the time to see the security risks that unchecked immigration poses. Our government needs to be held accountable for its borders and its people. I will reiterate that this is a complex issue. These few suggestions above have not even begun to touch on the implications of stricter immigration enforcement and how it will impact our economy. Nor do these suggestions address how we need to widen the pool of visas to make up for the fewer illegal immigrants in the workforce. Immigrants clearly play a large role in our economy. However, we are doing our country a grave disservice by linking all of these issues together and creating an issue so overwhelming and politically untouchable that nothing ever gets accomplished. Illegal immigration is a security issue first and foremost. Regardless of our political leanings, dealing with this problem should be of the utmost concern to all of us.
