A firm, humane immigration plan

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Many concerns have been expressed in past years about illegal immigration -- particularly the illegal entry of hundreds of thousands of undocumented aliens from south of the U.S. borders. Best estimates indicate that there are 11 million to 12 million undocumented aliens presently in the U.S., with up to 1 million new illegals arriving each year. Obviously, these numbers include many earnest, hard-working people wanting a better life, but also represent thousands of "irresponsibles," including convicted felons and terrorists. How long can this neglect be ignored?

While sympathetic to the plight of billions of deprived people in the world, the U.S. simply cannot address the plethora of poverty concerns in all foreign countries. U.S. immigration is sorely lacking in administering a policy that welcomes legal immigrants, yet protects the homeland from illegals who infiltrate illegally (and will continue to do so as long as they are rewarded with attractive government benefits when they get here).

It is my belief that a few basic principles based upon justice and fairness could provide vision and guidance for drafting effective immigration-reform legislation. Such principles are based upon a set of simple assumptions:

* All people living in the United States should be naturalized citizens or actively working toward U.S. citizenship.

* Infiltrators who enter the country illegally should not be rewarded with government benefits.

* All undocumented aliens presently in the U.S. must be registered before receiving any further benefits.

* Illegal aliens having criminal histories should be identified and permanently expelled.

* U.S. immigration should be based upon merit rather than a random lottery system. The following is a five-point plan that would balance justice with fairness for all groups concerned, including U.S. taxpaying citizens, earnest foreigners seeking to immigrate legally and undocumented illegals presently in the country:

1. Stop rewarding illegals with government benefits. When the U.S. government stops rewarding them, the flow of illegals into the country will quickly dwindle, as the word gets around in their home communities.

2. Establish merit-based immigration quotas. Quotas for legal immigrants -- potentially contributing citizens -- could actually be increased if the flow of illegals into the country were shut off. A merit-based quota system would give preference to foreigners who speak and write English, have basic education and job skills, and a crime-free life history. Knowing these standards would allow applicants to prepare themselves for immigration acceptance, rather than face the daunting randomness of the present lottery system.

3. Document illegals presently in the U.S. The U.S. government would declare a six-month moratorium during which illegal aliens could become documented without penalty, and receive a temporary admission classification. Notices would be published nationally, in multiple languages, explaining that illegals who ignore the moratorium would immediately be cut off from receiving further government benefits. Illegals who comply would qualify for limited benefits of emergency medical care and basic public school attendance for children.

4. Provide a provisional admission status. Aliens desiring immigration would receive one of two types of temporary authorization, called class B or class A provisional admissions. Class B would be short-term and temporary, and would fulfill a two-fold purpose: First, to allow former illegals presently in the country up to one year to qualify for the more hopeful class A provisional admission. (Lengthy periods of temporary admission are actually unfair to immigrant hopefuls who do not eventually qualify, resulting in family ties more disrupted and personal life goals increasingly frustrated.) Secondly, to provide temporary permits, renewable on an annual basis, for seasonal migrant workers who return to permanent homes in their native countries each year.

Class A would be a probationary classification with slightly more benefits, the sole purpose being to allow qualified immigrants to progress toward naturalization as U.S. citizens. This classification would be issued for a maximum of five years, with the requirement that applicants demonstrate "annual adequate progress" toward naturalization. Should annual progress not occur, applicants would be denied extensions and returned to their native countries. (Space limitations do not allow provisions for immigrant families here.)

5. Implement a streamlined immigration application process with sure identification. Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program could be utilized as a means of sure identification, and applicants who qualify could be issued expedited class A provisional admission without costly fees.

The benefits of a firm, yet humane immigration plan would be thousands of qualified immigrants -- all working toward the goal of U.S. citizenship -- with a sweeping decrease in undocumented illegals. The eventual outcome would be a diverse population of unified citizens, all working for the common welfare of U.S. democracy.

Blake is professor emeritus at Weber State University, and has been a student and advocate of immigration reform over the years. He lives in Roy with his wife, Carol.

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