I find the notion that renaming Illegal Aliens to Undocumented Workers changes the fact that they are in this country illegally to be a rather humorous one.

I hear pundits cry “These people pay taxes, they are productive members of society, etc…”  I can’t help but think, “Um, if you enter the country illegally, you have broken laws and you need to go back home and try to get here through the appropriate LEGAL channels.”  However, in the interest of moving forward, I don’t have an actual issue with legalizing those already here as long as they and their families are not engaged in any additional illegal activities.

My premise for the following blog is that if our system of immigration is so flawed that we need to allow 20-30 MILLION people here illegally, then fix the system of immigration, don’t perpetuate the theory that if you can get here, you can stay here, no matter the means used to get here.

My family came from immigrants as did most people’s families.  Very few of us come from a pure American Indian heritage and can claim not to have immigrated from somewhere at some time.  My family did it legally.  We even have the papers from when my great-grandfather came through Immigration to enter the United States.

I think there is some middle ground between sending everyone back and granting clemency to everyone.  However, our first goal has to be securing our borders.  We must be able to ensure that no one who wishes our country harm is allowed to enter.  This will require a significant investment in border security but the cost of holes in our ability to keep bad people from coming in is too high to be allowed to continue and we are a country of finite resources and cannot continue to maintain an underground population in addition to our citizens.

After securing the borders, let’s set up a process for those here illegally to become legal.  This can be accomplished at a state level with those wishing to become legal visitors (NOT CITIZENS) applying and providing information to tell us how long they’ve been here, how they got here, who is here with them, and what they’ve been doing since they got here.  Assess back taxes to the best of the person’s ability to pay for the time they’ve been here and provide them with a Non-resident Alien Tax ID and a work Visa as well as signing them up for citizenship classes.  Those who we deem to be criminals (or who choose not to follow this legalization process) should be identified, picked up and sent back to their country of origin with a “DO NOT ALLOW RE-ENTRY” flag in all the appropriate border systems.  Make the “effective date” of the legalization process immediate, with anyone arriving in the US after that date through illegal means being sent directly back to their country of origin.  The effective date will help ensure that we don’t have a huge influx of people trying to get into the country before the deadline.

Provide infrastructure to support this population as they make their way to becoming citizens.  ESL classes, job training, education services, basic health services and constant positive interaction with authority figures will ensure their ability to assimilate into the citizenry and care for their families without becoming dependent on our welfare system.  If they want to be US citizens then let’s help them be the best US citizens they are able to be.

The United States remains the destination of choice for people who live in countries with limited opportunity and I believe that just as with my grandfather, this country should continue to open its arms to those who wish to come here.  We just need to make sure that we provide the infrastructure to allow it while maintaining our security as a nation.