Ryan ChartrandThe Republican Party suffered a convincing defeat in this year’s midterm election. Losing control of both the House and the Senate will likely leave these institutions in the untested hands of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
During the past two years, these leaders worked together to implement a strictly enforced form of party unity. They regrouped the Democratic Party after the 2004 re-election of President Bush and combined to stonewall congressional and presidential attempts to reform Social Security.
Sadly, this strategy worked and the country is still suffering because one of our worst domestic problems remains unsolved. Hopefully the Republican minority does not impose a similar form of partisan opposition to progress in the upcoming two years.
Perhaps the only promising thing that we can hope to get out of Bush’s last two years in office is comprehensive immigration reform. This issue seems to be the sole area of agreement between Bush and Democrats in the legislature. If a Democratic Congress and President Bush can unite to end the current dismal state of illegal immigration then this term should be considered a success.
There are an estimated 10 million to 15 million illegal immigrants in this country and tens of thousands more cross our borders every month. In a study of the latest census, the Federation for American Immigration Reform estimated that “California’s illegal immigrant population is costing the state’s taxpayers more than $10.5 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration.” That translates out to a yearly cost of “$1,183 per household headed by a native-born resident.”
Those estimates do not even begin to take into account many other factors including degradation of transportation systems, identity theft, Social Security fraud and insurance fraud. The problem of illegal immigration is draining the lifeblood out of the greatest country on earth. The United States is long overdue for some serious reform of our failing immigration policies. The longer we have put it off, the worse it has become.
It is time for the citizens of this country to reiterate that timeless appeal, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Many immigrant groups in our history have come to the United States through New York and passed the Statue of Liberty that bears that pledge. But we need to stand firm in this modern era and make sure all who seek to come here check in at Ellis Island first. We cannot maintain the order and freedom of this great country if we are being flooded from all sides with people refusing to come here by legal means.
Republicans got their first immigration policy implemented with the current Congress’s passing of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. This bill authorizes the construction of a 700 mile fence along the 2,100-mile U.S.-Mexico border. While securing our borders is a critical first step, the newly elected Democrat-led Congress will have the opportunity to reform the rest of our immigration policy.
Now that we are working to stem the tide of illegal entry, we need to streamline the legal immigration process for those who want to come to this country to work. A temporary worker program should be set up to accommodate these people. Once a legalizing process has begun, Democrats will have to find ways to make sure employers stop hiring those who remain here illegally. Enforcement of current laws relating to identity theft, Social Security fraud and insurance fraud will also be necessary if we are to fully confront illegal immigration.
Finally, for those who wish to stay in the country permanently, there will likely need to be some type of path to citizenship. This rigorous process might include proof of employment, payment of back taxes, English language proficiency and other requirements.
All rolled together, comprehensive immigration reform is the most promising issue going for the Democrats in Congress because this country desperately needs a well-developed solution to illegal immigration. This issue, more than any other, will determine if a Democratic Congress has what it takes to lead this country. Democrats, the clock starts now.
Matt Bushman is a civil engineering senior and Mustang Daily political columnist.