The recent Arizona law on immigration has caused a lot of controversy, but one thing that has emerged on all sides of the argument is that this country needs some serious immigration law reform — the system is broken, denies reality, is overly complex, and basically wastes everyone’s time and encourages immigrants to be and stay illegal.

I can hope that politicians will implement some really great reforms for immigration soon, but I won’t hold my breath lest I turn blue and collapse before my time.   But I have my own ideas, and if it sparks some discussion on their merits, so be it.

This is a dependent list, meaning that to truly work all points must be implemented at once (or staged in as noted).   Half-assing this system won’t work to benefit of anyone, most likely.

IMMIGRATION REFORM IDEAS

1.  Truly Lock Down Our Borders – We’ve been saying it for years, but we’ve never actually done it.   Tons of other countries are a pain in the ass to get into because they have their borders tighter than a bongo but the United States is practically an open gate with a “Welcome!” sign.    If this requires the placement of a soldier on each mile of the border to guard it and a 15′ high razor fence, so be it — I’m sure we can find plenty of servicepeople willing to trade their deployment in Afghanistan for some homeland security duty.

2.  Announce a Period of Partial Amnesty — Once you have locked down the borders, declare a 6-month window of partial amnesty for all illegal aliens.    You put out a huge marketing campaign that tells the public, “You have six months to come forward and declare yourself as an illegal seeking permanent status in our country or to leave.   If you come forward in this time period, you will be shuffled into the program for gaining a green card without penalty.   If you decide to leave, you can go without issue.  After this time period expires, you will be declared illegal and an enemy of the State and will be deported without appeal.”   This does not mean that folks will not be required to go through the standard procedure to become a legal permanent resident, but you have to deal with the current illegal population and wholesale deportation is impractical, so this is the fair way to handle the backlog.

3.  Simplify the Permanent Resident Requirements and Procedures — I will detail what requirements I think are necessary to be a permanent resident in this country and a citizen in another post, but suffice it to say that both the requirements and the procedure needs to be simple, straightforward, relatively cheap, and clear-cut.   Anything else and you encourage people to go or stay illegal and take their chances.

4.  Revise and Expand the Visa Program — We have a huge requirement for temporary presence and work positions in this country, whether it be in the entertainment industry or the seasonal worker system.   If you provide an easy way for people to come here legitimately for work, visits, or similar, you discourage illegal access.    Seasonal worker visas should be super-easy to obtain for a specified time period, say, 3-4 months, with easy requirements — prove you pay your taxes and a criminal/drug check.    No quotas, a low fee, and easy applications complete the picture of simplicity.

5.  Lower Wage Requirements for Seasonal Workers – One of the big problems with seasonal workers is that companies prefer that they be illegal so they can pay them below minimum wage to work in the fields and so forth, and the people are perfectly willing to do so.   Thus, to make this work, lower the minimum wage requirement to something reasonable; say, $2/hour.    This will prevent outright exploitation ($0.50/hour or something) but will give companies the flexibility they need.

5.   Heighten the Penalties for Illegal Entry –  Coming here illegally should carry a swift and harsh punishment, fast deportation, fines, and banning from the country for a very long time.   If you make it easy to NOT be illegal, then the ones that are should be severely dealt with to further discourage it.

6.  Amend the 14th Amendment – The intentions of this Amendment did not include providing a loophole for illegal immigrants to get a foothold in the country simply by having a child.    If the child is born to a permanent resident or citizen, this makes sense to make them citizens as well.   But if both parents are illegal or temporary, the child should absolutely not become a citizen automatically; it ties these people here in unnatural and unfair circumstances.

7.  Require Regular “Check-Ins” for all Non-Permanent Residents — If you’re here and you’re not permanent, you should have to check in with an official body every 3 months or so to confirm that you are following the terms of your visa and that there are no outstanding measures to be taken care of.   If you fail to report regularly, you are then tagged as being illegal and you are sought and handled in that matter.

8.  Require Regular Worker Audits – Companies will have little to no excuses for hiring illegals under the new system, so regular surprise worker audits should be conducted.   Contrary to all the detractors out there, it’s completely legitimate to ask, “show me your papers” to employees and employers to have them prove that only legal workers are being used.

9.  Require Paperwork for Any Government-Paid Benefit – The only exception is being dire, life-threatening medical care, but otherwise, it’s completely normal to background check someone before giving them government-paid care, food stamps, etc.    Make it fair — if you are going to ask everyone, ask EVERYONE, including me, to prove that I’m a legitimate citizen.   More on this in a future post about national ID cards.

10.  No Tolerance Rule for Crimes by Temporary Residents — As non-permanent residents in the USA, hold those present here temporarily to a higher standard; if you commit a crime while here, you are convicted and deported.   No time in jails (costs us money), no big appeals process, no chance to go back to work here.   We insist as visitors to our country that you treat it better than your own country; if you are not willing to do so, out you go.

Conclusion

These measures are probably not complete and all-encompassing of all situations that exist out there, but I think they would be a step in the right direction towards where we need to go.   Some of these appear harsh, perhaps; and maybe that’s a legitimate concern, but at the same time, we have to consider this fact:   We welcome with open arms foreigners into our great country, but we insist that you are a visitor and must behave with the appropriate amount of respect.     I realize the economic issues of cheap labor and seasonal help and I think we can work the laws and regulations to conform with those needs and demands without sacrificing our national security and control of the situation.   In reform, we hope to go back to being a great country who makes it clear what is acceptable and what isn’t and is only ever enhanced by the stream of new people, cultures, and ideas entering on a daily basis.

In the various talks, debates, and arguments about the merits and details of national health care/health insurance reform, I have become increasingly confused at the position of the religious right on this issue and, indeed, on their position on most social issues, not just health care.   They, along with most of the conservatives are hellbent on stopping any sort of reform in any format or flavor.    What confuses me about this, however, is that it simply doesn’t fit their moral structure.

Frankly, religious right — WTFWJD, eh?

Here’s the thing — based on the teachings of Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, or any of your typical mainstream religious figures, the staunchly religious should be all over social reforms such as poverty, homelessness, and health care, right?    I mean, what did these great teachers instruct if not tolerance, kindness, taking care of the poor, the sick, the needy, befriending the outcast, reaching out to the lowest or loneliest in society and wrapping them up in arms of love, service, and help?   They as a group should be jumping all over the idea that we’re trying to reform health care so more people get the proper care and we add the 40+ million uninsured Americans into the system.

And yet on that side of the aisle we see exactly the opposite, opposing reform, opposing taking resources from those that “have” to give to those that “have not” and generally turning a blind eye and an upturned nose on those who can’t make it as easily as they have.    “They’re just lazy,” comes the reply when you ask about the lower-class family struggling to feed their children and keep a roof over their heads.   “If they just worked harder, they could have health care insurance, too.”

It’s simply astounding to me at the attitude carried by this group about social matters.    Instead of, “alms for the poor”, it’s “go work at Walmart”.     When considering a proposal to provide cheap housing to low-income neighborhoods, the response is, “Stupid bum — why don’t you get a job and buy a house?”   Eyes roll at the kids who have to get free or reduced lunches in order to get a decent meal — “Bloodsucking parents…”

Their rhetoric spreads far and wide in teabagging protests and angry townhall meetings — “You are NOT entitled to what I earn!”    Oh, really?    Let’s hope God thinks you’re entitled to what you earn, you hypocrite.   Maybe you ought to be a better steward of your earthly riches?

The counter-argument to this is that such donations to help the less-fortunate should be given voluntarily, not through government intervention.   As nice of a sentiment as this is, it obviously doesn’t work or we wouldn’t have the problem in the first place. The fact is, most of these people touting these ideas are hypocrites and prefer to hang onto their cash at all costs, the needy and desperate around them be damned.   At least I will be freely honest about the fact that I don’t donate much to charity because I prefer to use it on my own family.    But even I’m not enough of an asshole to say, “Oh, no, don’t raise my taxes slightly so more people can get health care.   I prefer having that on my conscience.”

There is far too much emphasis being placed on whose fault it is that we have the poor and lowly amongst us and not enough action being done to attempt to correct it.    There are legitimate concerns, I realize — some folks in these tight positions are there because they were incompetant or reckless — but does taking the attitude that they must all be in that position really do anything to help or resolve the issue?    Instead, it ends up being a distraction to the real problem at hand — we have under- or uninsured people getting sick, going broke, and sometimes dying because they can’t get the help they need.     How do we solve this?

In the end, if the religious right is going to preach a particular theology, then they would do well to live by it.   After all, Jesus did not ask Mary Magdaelene for her financial records to see if she was a prostitute out of desperation or because she gambled it all away.    He did not tell Zacheus, “I’m coming to your house — but only if you’re not crooked.”    He did not commission his followers to be servants to humankind just so they could make excuses about why they shouldn’t.

Who knows?  God might even approve.

Under attacks from the right and severe lack of backbone from the left, health care reform is starting to wobble on its feet.    While I remain a steadfast supporter of reform on both moral and economic grounds, the process is in trouble.    Between lies and half-truths being tossed by the Republicans in the face of reform and the Democrats inability to properly deflect them, the ship is taking on too much water and without some change will probably founder.    This should not happen.

I think it can be saved — and I think we can benefit from a good, solid bill that enacts real reform — but the President and his supporters must change course and tactics and must do it soon or however poorly-designed the arguments of the opposition may be the American people, and ultimately the support beneath the bill, will fall away into oblivion.

Get On Message — The White House must get their entire staff back on a single, solid, concise message.    Instead of coming out of the chute with guns blazing, this administration has sauntered into the park holding a bill on a platter and were surprised that they were attacked from the bushes.   Put on the battle gear, grow a pair, give out the orders to everyone on the team, and get marching in lockstep.     The message from the White House must be solid, without holes, and consistent.

Stick to Your Guns — Speaking of a consistent message, the President must come out on national television in front of Congress and say, “This is what we want for health care reform — points A, B, C.   Anything else, I will VETO — period.”    And he must stand behind that decision, no matter what the polls say, no matter how the votes appear to be swinging.    If you’re going to be bold, you have to stick to it or nobody will believe you, and right now, nobody thinks anyone’s really serious except the fear-mongers.

Public Option or Bust — The President’s punch list for reform must include the public option without it being a possible drop point.   It is the only way true reform can happen and everyone knows it.   Quit listening to the detractors and waffling on it. This is not a recipe for doughnuts, it’s health care reform.

The Buck Stops Here — President Obama must come out and state exactly how they are going to pay for reform, whether in the form of savings, taxes, discounts, or other means.    The numbers must be clean, clear, and understandable without an accounting degree.   He must stop skirting around the fact that in order to pay for this, people will have to be taxed.    We citizens are not stupid, and if you tell it how it is, we’re likely to back you, but you cannot hide from what is the truth.    If you’re going to sock it to the rich, then say that.   If you’re going to raise all of our taxes by a margin to cover everyone else, tell us how much.      We want to know the bottom line and then we’re likely to sign the check.

Go to the People — The President must engage the public media like he did during the candidacy and go on any newscast, talk show, and public media that will listen.   He must call a national address and engage all networks.    Taking along the solid, concise message of the first point, he needs to present it to the American people over and over, using graphs or videos or flowcharts or dayglo chimpanzees — whatever visual aids will help everyone understand the benefits and costs of health care reform and how it will affect them.     Almost everyone I know is confused and knows little about what this bill will or won’t do and that must stop. Everyone should be talking about it around the water cooler and we should all know the exact picture, whether or not we agree with it.

Tighten the Screws — Once all this has been done, the White House must then put enormous pressure on its Democratic base in both houses to perform and align with their message.   If that means calling every representative into a conference and having a Come-To-Jesus talk, so be it.    Stop the sound bites of Democrats waffling within their own swimming pool while the Republicans dance outside and point fingers — it’s embarrassing.

Stop Beating the Dead Horse — The entire Democratic party along with the White House must stop talking of “bipartisanship”.     It is worthless.     We all well know that most Republicans do not want to reform health care and therefore will at best water down the reform and at worst kill it, this sort of bill must not be signed with the least bit of dilution.

If Necessary, Go Down Gracefully — If, after all this solidarity, marketing to the public, demands of the Congress, and adherence to a clear principle you cannot get the votes, you can’t get them — simple as that.   This is Landmark Reform™ — it might not happen this round, although we need it desperately.    But the clear and simple way of ensuring that, if it dies, you will not be able to resurrect it for another 10-20 years is to waffle and cajole and weasel and compromise it into a small, weak shadow of its original intent.      Better to lose and lose big than to be decimated into pieces too small to put together again or, worse yet, to implement a bill that ends up being a drooling half-wit representation of Real Change.

We need to have health care reform.    I think most Americans want health care reform, but we all want it to be done correctly, clearly, and decisively.     This can and should truly be a huge turning point in our history as a country.

Although an Obama supporter, I am not one of the “Kool-Aid Clan” that drank the juice and now sees stars coming out of his nether regions wherever he walks.   No, President Obama is a man, a human, and a politician, prone to the same influences that all others are.   It is for this reason that I am disappointed on his stance on several issues, namely warrantless wiretapping, abortion, and the prosecution (or lack thereof) of the acts of torture that the United States has committed in its “war on terror”.

The fact is, we now have on record leaked memos from the Bush administration authorizing extreme measures to be used in extracting information, quotes from Dick Cheney about what sort of tactics were used on detainees, and probably the most damning evidence of all, the International Committee of the Red Cross report citing that the methods used on US prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay and other “black sites” around the world were, in fact, nothing but torture.

The ICRC is the independent, non-political group assigned to police nations for violations of the Geneva Conventions, the set of international treaties that determine world-wide rules for waging war and the treatment of such people as prisoners of war.     Essentially, the GCs were convened to hold all countries to some minimum standards of decorum when in conflict (personally, I think it’s hilarious, because why not just outlaw war?  That is another discussion, however.)

The ICRC report is quite easy to read and accessible, written in plain, understandable English — I’ll even post it here as a link:

ICRC Report on Torture

I urge you to read it, or at least some of it; the summaries are darn good bits, and reading even one of the types of torture used will set your hair on end.  The accounts of the acts done by CIA operatives and other personnel are…not pretty, but something we should all be aware of, because our country endorsed and used these on other living human beings.

These reports are never meant to be seen by the public; as you can read, it was addressed to the CIA and is marked confidential.   Thus the reporters have held nothing back in their evaluation of the true situation and what it means in moral and ethical terms.   It makes no bones about their evaluation of the treatment of the top 14 “high value” detainees, saying, “…the ICRC clearly considers that the allegations of the fourteen include descriptions of treatment and interrogation techniques — singly or in combination — that amounted to torture and/or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”    This is nothing less than a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions by the United States government.

And I’d like something to be done about it.

So far, Spain is on the ball and has already started working on prosecuting six Bush-administration officials for their involvement in authorizing torture tactics, but why should we wait for other countries to do our dirty work?    You can be assured that Europe has far less to lose if they choose to prosecute the people involved in this than we do, but don’t we, the people, care enough to deal with this ourselves?  Does the new administration not know what has happened and that they have a responsibility to find those guilty and to prosecute them for their crimes?

Of course they do — they’re just avoiding it because it’ll burn up HUGE amounts of political capital, especially with the far Right.     There’s always been a bit of a precedent to avoid such mole-whackings of the previous administration, even to the point of pardoning the whole messy system (hellooooo, Nixon?).    I do not think that we should let this one slide into the past without even a whimper, however.    So far, Attorney General Eric Holder has been rather mute on the issue, dodging the central question of torture prosecutions, despite saying during his confirmation that he did not agree with the tactics and that it should be punished.     And fair enough, he’s just getting started, but…we’re waiting.   And we don’t want to be kept waiting forever.

Change is not always easy.    It oftentimes pisses people off and makes enemies.    Change can be hard, stressful, cumbersome.    You might end up making just as big of a mess from performing change as you started with, or even worse.   But on this note, we cannot let falter — the United States, the American people, are not torturers and we do not stand for that sort of behavior.    We must redeem ourselves in the world’s eyes as well as our own, for how can we face our children and say we did the right thing if we sweep this under the rug?

It will be hard and difficult and painful, but it must be done.    Please, President Obama, prosecute the perpetrators of torture.    And please, American public, support the effort.    We can do better, and we should.   Pay the bill and bring those to bear for their heinous acts — please.

Meghann McCain wrote an article today on The Daily Beast entitled, “What I Learned from the Democrats” wherein she detailed what lessons can be learned from the party of donkey by the party of elephant in their pursuit to find a clearer path in the party.

First, I think Meghann is one of the clearest, cleanest voices in the GOP today.   There is a lot of ‘noise’ in the party line and it’s nice to hear someone coming up with sensible, cautioned opinions about what’s going on and more importantly, what to do about it, which does not seem to be a point on any Republican powerpoint presentation today.

I do debate the idea that the Republicans are showing party unity right now.   They may have shown unity during the Bush years, mostly by not saying anything against what Bush was doing with his policies, but nowadays there is an awful lot of side and back-talk and odd folks struggling for recognition and voices in the GOP dogpile — Palin, Steele, Jindal, etc.   Nobody is a clear, solid leader and they’re not all talking the same game.   Add to that the Republican legislators who have chosen the path of, “NO”, despite efforts to bi-partisanship by the president, and you’ve got a party locked in a struggle with itself.    At the moment, the Democrats only have to sit back and watch (if they know what’s smart) and wait until the GOP finds a real leader that unifies the party message before having to fight it.   Right now, Republicans are doing all the work in hurting themselves.

Did supporting the surge really benefit the GOP?   I don’t think so….after all, supporting the war efforts simply made it that much easier for Democrats to gain ground in the election due to the animosity it produced; the polls clearly showed that the war efforts contributed greatly to the decision to flip the leadership of this country around.

The quote from Senator Reid was improperly cited out of context.    The original article from The Hill.com quotes Reid as such:

Reid stated, “I don’t believe in the executive power trumping everything… I believe in our Constitution, three separate but equal branches of government.”

“If Obama steps over the bounds, I will tell him. … I do not work for Barack Obama. I work with him,” he said.

Meghan is VERY correct when she says the extreme-left liberals are making Obama’s efforts at a centric position extremely difficult.   I’ve never like Pelosi and Reed has struck me again and again as a mosquito to be slapped, and I do think they tend to get in the way.   That being said, what is up with the GOP refusing to give any ground on any of the major votes and instead be whipped into saying a universal negative to every major thing that comes up?   Stimulus?  NO.   Budget?  NO.   Bi-partisanship?  NO.

I think a lot of the Left (minus the few out for their party and nobody else) are trying to make a middle ground that’s happy to everyone, but how can that be encouraged when there’s no response?   At this point, I’m more likely to say, “Screw it — we tried, you didn’t budge, so now we won’t even try and you can just suffer the consequences.”   Remember that at least in the House, Democrats don’t even have to try to get GOP votes, and in the Senate, it’s fairly easy to get around the filibuster if need be.    Republicans would do well to put down their sabres and meet us in the middle of the field on occasion.

All this being said, I do agree with Meghan’s call for centrism on the part of moving forward, both for Democrats and the GOP.    This is generally how government is designed to work anyway, and is why we have the system of checks-and-balances in place to prevent the extremes from existing.    Both parties would do well to remember this as they move forward;  big changes are possible without becoming extremist, and that’s the hard balance to find and maintain.