With the unrest in Syrbia and the economic difficulties of both Greece and Puerto Rico, there is a sudden surge in immigration throughout the developed world. While the bulk of these are coming from the Middle East, the people of Puerto Rico are leaving their island and coming to the United States in larger numbers. This has once again brought immigration back into the spotlight. While Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, it is not a state and as such, its people should be treated the same as any other people entering this country.
Our current immigration system is broken and it has been for years. It simply does not work and it's long past time to revise it. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," are the famous lines from the poem, "The New Colossus" which is engraved on a plaque and is part of the Statue of Liberty. As a nation, we should live by these words. Living by these words must be done in such a way to be fair to the immigrants and fair to the Americans who welcome them. I suggest the following:
Anyone who desires to come to America for a better life must do it legally. They should visit their local American Embassy and fill out an application. That application will then be reviewed, mostly for past criminal activity. If there is a history of violent crime, the application is denied. We do not need the criminals of other countries coming here to commit their crimes. Those are not the tired, poor, huddled masses.
This background check should be completed within two weeks. It does not take any longer than that to run a background check and extending that period only makes illegal entry easier than legal. Run the background check immediately and be done with it.
Once the background check is complete and assuming no violent crime has been found, the application will be approved. Approval means a visa to live and work in the United States. The person then has 30 days to find a place to live and register with their local government with their American address. Once they have done this, they will be able to apply for a Social Security number and a driver's license.
Within the first six months the person must report to the local government that they have found employment or are attending school on a full-time basis. They must report every six months to update their information and if they move, they must immediately notify their local government office.
In order to make this fair to the American people, no public benefits will be available to anyone who has not paid taxes for a minimum of ten years. In the event of a child born in the United States, benefits are not available until their parents have paid taxes for ten years. This includes welfare, medical, food stamps and all other public benefits. If the person has not been working in this country and paying taxes, they are not eligible for benefits.
Lastly, before any public benefits are paid to any immigrant, they must be granted citizenship. If they do not choose to become a citizen of this country, they are not eligible to receive benefits from this country.
This is the simple plan of immigration reform that I propose. It would be equitable for all involved, it involves a path to citizenship and it eliminates the need for illegally entering this country.
Showing posts with label Immigration Reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Immigration Reform. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Obama and the Immigration Situation
Not everything I do is political. I've been a little lax on this blog because I was working on writing and publishing a novel on vampires. If you're interested, it's called "Vampire Tales - Book One - Genesis" and you can find it at most online book dealers.
Now on to Obama. Since moving to Tulsa I've been surrounding myself with more and more Republicans. Those who are not truly Republican are still rather conservative. I consider myself to be a breath of fresh air for their stale minds. Just about everyone I meet here gets their news from Fox. It's sad, really.
After Obama wrote his Executive Order on immigration, these people have been asking me what I think of my president now, assuming that I would now change my mind considering how he has taken power that the president is not allowed by the constitution. Or I would be ashamed of how he has taken a "my way or the highway" approach and gone off on his own without regard for the work of the Congress. Or at the very least that I would agree that the will of the people in this last election is that the Republicans are best able to run the government and we should agree with that wisdom.
To all of this I say, get real.
In the first place, Obama is an expert when it comes to the constitution. He knows where the power lies and he knows what he can and cannot do. He knows, for example, that only congress can change the laws that would grant green cards, so he did not go that far. He went as far as the law would allow him to go. That is not a power grab. That is doing his job.
Now let's look at the elected bodies. The senate passed a bill for immigration reform. That is the job of the senate. That bill was sent to the house. The house is then to re-write the bill, if they don't like it the way it is, and vote on it. If it's the same bill, it goes to the president for his signature. If not, it goes back to the senate to be re-worked by that body. When they reach an agreement it goes to the president.
In this case, the senate passed a bill and sent it to the house. The house has been sitting on that bill for more than 500 days. For over a year they have ignored their job duties and done nothing. We did not elect them to not do their jobs. The president told them if they were not going to do their jobs he would do it for them. They did not do their jobs. He did his. That is not a power grab. That is doing the job we elected him to do.
As for a "my way or the highway" approach, they seem to be a tad bit mistaken on who has that attitude. Mitch McConnell stated six years ago that his primary concern was to make sure that Obama was a one-term president. Six years later he now claims he wants to work with the president. John Boehner has consistently shown that he will not work with the president. If anyone needs evidence of that, look at how many times Boehner has brought measures up for a vote to repeal Obamacare. It's over 50 times now. Yet, they could not find time to vote just once on immigration reform. It's not Obama who has the "my way or the highway" approach. That badge sits squarely on the chest of the Republicans.
And lastly, the "people" did not speak in the last election. In fact, the majority of people do not speak in any of our elections. It's very sad that so few people in this country vote but that's the reality. Most do not. For the 2012 presidential election, there was a much larger turnout than for 2014. And the 2012 voters voted for Obama. So, if you want to argue that it's the will of the majority, that would be for Obama, not for a Republican led House of Representatives and Senate.
No, I will continue to support Obama. I stand behind his ideals and beliefs and I share his vision for a better America. Our immigration laws are unfair and need to be rewritten and he has taken a step in that direction. Hopefully his action will cause the Republicans to finally pass reform legislation and get our country moving again.
Now on to Obama. Since moving to Tulsa I've been surrounding myself with more and more Republicans. Those who are not truly Republican are still rather conservative. I consider myself to be a breath of fresh air for their stale minds. Just about everyone I meet here gets their news from Fox. It's sad, really.
After Obama wrote his Executive Order on immigration, these people have been asking me what I think of my president now, assuming that I would now change my mind considering how he has taken power that the president is not allowed by the constitution. Or I would be ashamed of how he has taken a "my way or the highway" approach and gone off on his own without regard for the work of the Congress. Or at the very least that I would agree that the will of the people in this last election is that the Republicans are best able to run the government and we should agree with that wisdom.
To all of this I say, get real.
In the first place, Obama is an expert when it comes to the constitution. He knows where the power lies and he knows what he can and cannot do. He knows, for example, that only congress can change the laws that would grant green cards, so he did not go that far. He went as far as the law would allow him to go. That is not a power grab. That is doing his job.
Now let's look at the elected bodies. The senate passed a bill for immigration reform. That is the job of the senate. That bill was sent to the house. The house is then to re-write the bill, if they don't like it the way it is, and vote on it. If it's the same bill, it goes to the president for his signature. If not, it goes back to the senate to be re-worked by that body. When they reach an agreement it goes to the president.
In this case, the senate passed a bill and sent it to the house. The house has been sitting on that bill for more than 500 days. For over a year they have ignored their job duties and done nothing. We did not elect them to not do their jobs. The president told them if they were not going to do their jobs he would do it for them. They did not do their jobs. He did his. That is not a power grab. That is doing the job we elected him to do.
As for a "my way or the highway" approach, they seem to be a tad bit mistaken on who has that attitude. Mitch McConnell stated six years ago that his primary concern was to make sure that Obama was a one-term president. Six years later he now claims he wants to work with the president. John Boehner has consistently shown that he will not work with the president. If anyone needs evidence of that, look at how many times Boehner has brought measures up for a vote to repeal Obamacare. It's over 50 times now. Yet, they could not find time to vote just once on immigration reform. It's not Obama who has the "my way or the highway" approach. That badge sits squarely on the chest of the Republicans.
And lastly, the "people" did not speak in the last election. In fact, the majority of people do not speak in any of our elections. It's very sad that so few people in this country vote but that's the reality. Most do not. For the 2012 presidential election, there was a much larger turnout than for 2014. And the 2012 voters voted for Obama. So, if you want to argue that it's the will of the majority, that would be for Obama, not for a Republican led House of Representatives and Senate.
No, I will continue to support Obama. I stand behind his ideals and beliefs and I share his vision for a better America. Our immigration laws are unfair and need to be rewritten and he has taken a step in that direction. Hopefully his action will cause the Republicans to finally pass reform legislation and get our country moving again.
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