The immigration discussion: it’s not over
Last month, I reported to all of you about the Chamber’s Immigration Reform Policy and our efforts to energize the nation’s congressional leaders to take a closer look at it. As promised, TMCC’s immigration policy was mailed to every member of the House and Senate the first week in May. But that’s not the end of the story.
Over the course of the last three weeks, my staff and I have been contacting numerous Chambers of Commerce across the country, the U S Chamber, as well as other leadership organizations with a strong message: “Illegal immigration impacts everyone, not just Arizonans. If you haven’t been affected yet, you will be.” Along with providing a copy of our plan, I included a letter urging my peers to actively disperse the plan to their members and other organizations in their area and encourage them to direct their members of congress to take action on comprehensive immigration reform and board security--NOW! With this continued push, it is my expectation that Congress will no longer be afforded the opportunity to ignore this pressing problem. I have also urged my peers—as I urge all of the Tucson Chamber membership—to carefully consider action on this issue by lawmakers as a litmus test on Election Day. No one in congress should be allowed to side step this thorny problem simply because it is controversial. We need to hold their feet to the fire.
Boycotts or Buycotts (although I do like the buycott idea) can’t resolve this critical issue. Real, measured, and complete immigration reform can. I believe the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce policy could create the foundation for a viable immigration reform plan.
Here is the proposal:
Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Immigration Reform Policy
Border Security
Comprehensive immigration reform legislation should be phased in, but executed as fast as possible. Legislation must detail the appropriation of funds.
Border security and enforcement must be the primary focus so as not to repeat the errors of the 1986 immigration legislation in which millions of undocumented aliens were legalized and border security was not enforced.
Adequate resources must be made available to detain and deport illegal aliens; legal reform may be necessary to hasten the deportation process. More apprehension facilities need to be constructed and all those apprehended must be identified for security purposes.
The Border Patrol should be more involved in decisions regarding the appropriate allocation of funds for border security.
Greater resources should be given to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies to identify and deport illegal aliens. Currently, there are instances where ICE will only act when there are large numbers of illegal aliens to be apprehended.
Enhance instant communication between local and federal law enforcement agencies.
Guest Workers
There should be an allowance for extended residency for guest workers, but no new path to citizenship. Existing pathways to citizenship must be used.
Any guest worker program should apply only to workers. Family members of guest workers must only be admitted under existing visa requirements.
Employers must be sanctioned for hiring illegal aliens. These penalties should be directly related to the sophistication of verification tools. If there are not sufficient verification tools to identify undocumented workers, employers cannot be fairly punished for violation of the law.
Enforcement must not be selective, but rather industry-wide to avoid driving workers from one company to another within the same industry creating unbalanced competition and no incentive to follow the law.
It is necessary that any part of a worker program must include an eligibility verification system that is close to fool-proof with a quick response to employers. The fraud-proof system must be developed by the federal government to give relief to employers.
Illegal workers must report to document themselves to receive the above-mentioned identification documents within a period of 1-2 years after enactment or they will face deportation and permanent debarment from any U.S. guest worker program.
In the event of a labor shortage, increases in caps on worker visas may be needed.
An assessment needs to be completed by the federal government to ensure that U.S. citizens are not eliminated from job opportunities by the guest worker program.
The current seasonal agricultural worker program should be continued without interruption. Ports of entry need to be expanded to expedite ingress and egress.
Mexican economic development should be included in any sort of comprehensive plan.
Audit functions should occur every two years.
If you agree that this issue cannot be resolved by adding band-aids to an already flawed policy, then you, too, need to act. Call or email your congress person or senator and send them copies of this plan. Call for total reform—call for action. Call for comprehensive and complete immigration reform. NOW!
